WORK AS FLOW ■ 163of years of human consciousness. The energy that could be used to focus
on complex goals, to provide for enjoyable growth, is squandered on
patterns of stimulation that only mimic reality. Mass leisure, mass cul
ture, and even high culture when only attended to passively and for
extrinsic reasons—such as the wish to flaunt one’s status—are parasites
of the mind. They absorb psychic energy without providing substantive
strength in return. They leave us more exhausted, more disheartened
than we were before.
Unless a person takes charge of them, both work and free time
are likely to be disappointing. Most jobs and many leisure activities—
especially those involving the passive consumption of mass media—are
not designed to make us happy and strong. Their purpose is to make
money for someone else. If we allow them to, they can suck out the
marrow of our lives, leaving only feeble husks. But like everything else,
work and leisure can be appropriated for our needs. People who learn
to enjoy their work, who do not waste their free time, end up feeling
that their lives as a whole have become much more worthwhile. “The
future,” wrote C. K. Brightbill, “will belong not only to the educated
man, but to the man who is educated to use his leisure wisely.”