I hope you may find love on a Monday. I have a feeling that if we took Valentine’s Day more seriously the world would be a better place. Capitalism, however, abhors interruptions (unless you buy lots of stuff) so many of us are at work this Monday. I was recently reading how the full, unbroken eight hours’ sleep is a product of the industrial revolution. I’d never thought of that before. Everyone is different, of course, but it is natural for our species to wake in the night and be up for an hour or two and then to fall back asleep. That, of course, interferes with the nine-to-five (925) that capitalism holds so dear. In response, humans have altered their natural sleep patterns to conform. The results are predictable: a line at the coffee machine every day at the office.
When I raised this with a friend, I was reminded that much of our life-style has been determined by the industrial revolution. Certainly the concept of the weekend was. And the constant feeling of never having enough time to, well, exist. I awake when my body tells me it’s slept enough. Generally that’s around 3:00 a.m. I begin work early because Protestants have this work ethic going, but then I always get sleepy around 8:00 a.m. Napping on the job is essentially the same as being a communist, so like many others I struggle through the rest of the day, not quite as efficient as I was for the first couple of hours. In many cultures a nap is built into the after lunch slump. Intravenous coffee is preferred by capitalists everywhere.
What if love catches you on a Monday? Is it a sick day? A vacation day? A personal day? Or all of the above? It’s an opportunity to be human, but less than a true capitalist. Someone could be making money off your time! And whoever heard of more than ten paid holidays in a year? I’m not complaining. I love weekends and the scattering of holidays I receive, I really do. Still, I miss the spontaneity of life. The flight from a predator. The shutting of the eyes when tired. The celebration of love when it’s found. A Faustian bargain was made when Christianity wed capitalism. We’re encouraged to buy valentines for our sweeties, but show up to work and be there bright and early again the next morning. May you nevertheless find love on your Monday.
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
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