Laziness, Saint Francis, Oscar Wilde, and socialism

Oscar Wilde, in his incredibly creative, exacting, and perceptive essay, The Soul of Man Under Socialism states: “One's regret is that society should be constructed on such a basis that man has been forced into a groove in which he cannot freely develop what is wonderful, and fascinating, and delightful in him- in which, in fact, he misses the true pleasure and joy of living.”(p25)

As such, "The great error of this age," says Hazrat Inayat Kahn, "is that activity has increased so much, that there is little margin left in one's life for repose. And repose is the secret of all contemplation and meditation, the secret of getting in tune with that aspect of life which is the essence of all things."(The Mysticism, etc. p83)

Understanding this, Thomas Carlyle propounds: “If thou lookest, even for moments, into the region of the Wonderful, and seest and feelest that the daily life is girt with Wonder, and based on Wonder, and thy very blankets and breeches are Miracles- then art thou profited beyond money’s worth...” (Sartor, p203)

This understanding is described by Nikos Kazantzakis in his book Saint Francis, where, in a brief monologue, Brother Leo describes his path to the young Francis:

“My route, Sior Francis- and don't be surprised when you hear it- my route when I set out to find God...was...laziness. Yes, laziness. If I wasn't lazy I would have gone the way of respectable, upstanding people. Like everyone else I would have studied a trade- cabinet maker, weaver, mason- and opened a shop; I would have worked all day long, and where then would I have found time to search for God? I might as well be looking for needle in a haystack: that's what I would have said to myself. All my mind and thoughts would have been occupied with how to earn my living, feed my children, how to keep the upper hand over my wife. With such worries, curse them, how could I have had the time, or inclination, or the pure heart needed to think about the Almighty? But by the grace of God I was born lazy. To work, get married, have children, and make problems for myself were all too much trouble. I simply sat in the sun during winter, and in the shade during summer, while at night I stretched out on my back on the roof of my house, I watched the moon and the stars. And when you watch the moon and the stars how can you expect your mind not to dwell on God. ...Piety requires laziness you know. It requires leisure- and don't listen to what others say.” (Saint Francis, p34)

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These excerpts are taken from unpublished chapters from

THE WAY OF WONDER, by Jack Haas