In America, we strive for maximum efficiency, which coincides with maximum productivity.
However, neither of these are necessarily conducive for maximum enjoyment, leisure or happiness.
Bit of a problem there.
By way of example, I present a recent errand I ran. I needed to get tickets for the Colorado Railroad museum for the weekend in October that Thomas the Tank Engine visits.
Normally I'd hop in the car, get down there and back and be sitting at my computer in about 15 minutes.
Instead, I chose to ride my bike, stopping by Poor Boys Bagels for breakfast and then meandering over to the Museum. Got my tickets, shopped around the store for a bit, and had a leisurely ride back.
It was great. But, it took an hour. And made me realize that we don't use cars to deliberately avoid exercise, fresh air and good experiences. We use it to gain 45 minutes of time.
It just occurred to me that the 60 minutes I spent biking around Golden were really quite enjoyable. I enjoyed the life of leisure for an hour, got some fresh air and exercise, relaxed a bit, and generally have good thoughts about my time spent.
Huh. Wonder how I would have spent the 45 minutes I gained if I'd driven?
Posted by BilFish at September 2, 2004 10:05 AM