Far from idleness being the root of all evil, it is rather the only true good.
-Soren Kierkegaard

I couldn't agree more! For centuries idleness and its followers have been discriminated against. From being called sluggish, indolent, lazy, slothful and the like to being treated as the scumbags of the society, Idle Inc. [:P] has taken enough enough shit. Maybe now's the time to take an alternate view to the whole phenomenon. Its time to ask some earth-shattering questions. Is "idleness" really that sinister its made out to be or does it have some conceivable use too (this blog being an apt example). If Mr. Kierkegaard, the prolific 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian said the opening lines of this post, he must have his reasons. So lets take a look the confessions of an idle, shall we?

First and foremost lets try and define work. According to Bertrand Russell: "Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid. The second kind is capable of indefinite extension: there are not only those who give orders, but those who give advice as to what orders should be given."

If that doesn't make any sense, let me simplify it for you. Not all work is good and nor all the the time spent doing nothing a total waste. I mean what good is the work, if you don't get the time to savour its fruits? The real problem lies in the fact that we let our lives be governed by too many illogical and impractical rules without ever giving a thought to the purpose they serve. And the facet is that most of these rules are sort of inherited from our peers when we should be making our own rules which are complementary to each one of us as individuals. One of my favorite lines in a movie ever was the opening dialogue to the 1996 British cult film Trainspotting:

"Choose a Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments............ But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"

Leaving apart the part about dope, the reality is what we think is the time spent in "work" is just spent in emulating what others have done instead of carving out new paths. Being idle gives you the time to think about what you need to do to make your time on this planet more productive.
I would argue not only that early rising is totally unnatural but also that lying in bed half awake - sleep researchers call this state "hypnagogic" - is positively beneficial to health and happiness. A good morning doze of half an hour or more can, for example, help you to prepare mentally for the problems and tasks ahead. As to how on earth going early to bed could automatically guarantee riches and happiness, I suppose nothing can be proved, but I guess I'd rather find it out myself than half-blindly ape what others think is "right".

Greatness and late rising are natural bedfellows. Late rising is for the independent of mind, the individual who refuses to become a slave to work, money, ambition. In his youth, the great poet of loafing, Walt Whitman, would arrive at the offices of the newspaper where he worked at around 11.30am, and leave at 12.30 for a two-hour lunch break. Another hour's work after lunch and then it was time to hit the town. But then at the same time it should be noted that what worked for him may or may not give the same results when you or I try it. So its better to try out what we think is apt for us rather than acting like mere sheep in a herd.

In the end I'd like to end with the words of Anton Chekhov, Russian short-story and playwright, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in world literature :

"Life does not agree with philosophy: There is no happiness that is not idleness, and only what is useless is pleasurable."

Happy idling away!