Back to the Desk
This essay on the pros and cons of leisure-time activities takes a rather surprising but very
unique approach. To Robert Lynd leisure time has come to be equated with stress, exhaustion
and tiredness (weariness). As a contrast work is rather relaxing and restful, especially when
you return to work after a holiday.Work can be the ultimate recreation.
Robert Lynd envisages holidays at a seaside resort, which means stress all day long, right
away from the morning, which already starts with breakfast. Although one might consider it
rather easy to arrange to have your breakfast in bed, his conscience simply does not permit
relaxation, as he might run the risk of wasting the best time of the day and could have stayed
in London instead. Moreover the breakfast in a hotel, which he regards as a formidable affair,
is an open invitation to gluttony, a temptation you cannot successfully resists. After breakfast
the problems even multiply as he cannot bring himself to just sit down and do some work or
simply relax, but rather feels the urge to get out into the open, which usually involves a great
amount of exhausting walks. Lynd maintains that although you might have the best view of
the bay from your hotel window, you cannot help believing that the view around the corner is
much better, an illusion that keeps you on your feet all day long, no matter how steep the hills
may be. Although a certain professor (Julian Huxley) has stressed the benefits of taking
advantage of the help of local committees set up at every seaside resort to help visitors spend
relaxing holidays, he cannot enjoy his holidays without ending the day as a physical wreck.
Especially golf, which appears to be an innocent pastime activity, is much more strenuous
than any ordinary day’s work. The reason apparently lies with the unnatural posture necessary
for taking the balls out of the holes. The consequences of working hitherto unexpected sinews
are lumbago (Hexenschuß) and sciatica (Ischias). The dangerous thing about golf is that you
might get hooked on it. He admits that he does not have the strenght to resist the temptations
of a golf-course and admires people who indulge in contemplating nature. He says that he
used to have relaxing holidays when he was young, but now believes in the advantages of
exercise as a middle-aged person.
As opposed to the stress and exhaustion of holidays he feels much better when back at work.
Every muscle gently subsides in delicious inactivity. He is taken to work on the top of a bus,
can use a lift and is allowed to sit in his office, sometimes even with his feet on the table. The
only muscle he needs to exercise are the muscles of his fingers to guide his pencil. After work
he can get home and enjoy a peaceful rest there without suffering from an evil conscience. At
work he can be his own master - he has finally escaped the tyranny of exercise and fresh air.