Tom Hodgkinson Quotes - Page 2

Quotes about:

• Pain will never leave us. Instead of putting energy into destroying pain, we need to put energy into creating pleasure.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Pain, Creating, Energy

  Tom Hodgkinson (2006). “How to be Free”

  9 Copy quote

• To me there is no more depressing sight than a five-year-old staring at a screen, unsmiling, mouse in hand. Besides whatever dreadful things this prolonged exposure to screens is doing to their brains, computer games tend to be solitary affairs, and produce little laughter.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Depressing, Laughter, Sight

  "The joy of traditional games" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. December 10, 2010.

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• We need to claim lunch back. It is our natural right. It has been stolen from us by our rulers. The fear that keeps you chained to your desk, staring at your screen, does not serve your spirit. Lunch is a time to forget about being sensible, practical, efficient. A proper lunch should be spiritually as well as physically nourishing. Cosy, convivial, a treat; lunch is for loafers.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Lunch, Doe, Needs

  Tom Hodgkinson (2007). “How to be Idle”, p.68, Penguin UK

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• Faffing is good. It is an important part of life. Faffing is when we disconnect from the matrix and idle for a while, like a car. Our body and spirit know deep down that human beings were not made for constant toil so subconsciously creates space through the mechanism of faffing.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Space, Car, Important

  "The joy of simply faffing around" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. August 12, 2008.

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• Idleness allows you to turn a situation from boredom to pleasure.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Boredom, Pleasure, Situation

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• Beauty, pleasure, freedom and plenty of sleep: these are the hallmarks of a successful idler's break. Travel should not be hard work.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Hard Work, Sleep, Successful

  "Idle breaks" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. October 1, 2005.

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• One of the least arduous but most productive of gardening jobs, the magic of deadheading never fails to delight me. It was a revelation when the principle was explained to me: that flowers are the attempt by the plant to reproduce itself. So if you cut the heads off before the flower turns into seeds, the plant will continue to flower.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Jobs, Flower, Cutting

  "The best things in life are..." by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. January 6, 2007.

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• Education itself is a putting off, a postponement; we are told to work hard to get good results. Why? So we can get a good job. What is a good job? One that pays well. Oh. And that's it? All this suffering, merely so that we can earn a lot of money, which, even if we manage it, will not solve our problems anyway? It's a tragically limited idea of what life is all about.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Jobs, Hard Work, Learning

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• All of our technology is completely unnecessary to a happy life.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Happy Life, Technology, Unnecessary

  "Shakespeare had no BlackBerry and Aristotle mananged without an iPhone" by writes Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. November 10, 2009.

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• I count it as a certainty that in paradise, everyone naps.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Sleep, Naps, Paradise

  15 Copy quote

• Being good to people is the only insurance policy you need.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  People, Needs, Be Good

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• The accusation 'unprofessional' means 'You did not behave like a machine today.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Mean, Machines, Today

  Tom Hodgkinson (2006). “How to be Free”

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• I would like to propose slow cycling. Commute by bike. At a stroke, you remove the need for and absurd cost of public transport. Cycling is almost completely free. There is no longer any need for the gym as you get fit by cycling. And you can go at your own pace.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Cycling, Needs, Cost

  "Idle thoughts" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. February 11, 2006.

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• Often, the things that a lot of work has gone into have been incredibly bad because they're over-worked.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Gone, Has Beens

  "How To Be Idle: An Interview with Tom Hodgkinson". Interview with Katie Renz, www.motherjones.com. June 8, 2005.

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• If you look at the literature of the 19th century, you get things like Kafka and Dostoevsky, who basically write about feeling bored and alienated. That's because we lost contact with the important things in life like work that you enjoy, or the garden, nature, your family and friends.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Writing, Garden, Things In Life

  "How To Be Idle: An Interview with Tom Hodgkinson". Interview with Katie Renz, www.motherjones.com. June 8, 2005.

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• Part of this individualism is you feel this pressure that you alone have to conquer the world, and if you don't work all the hours God gives then you start feeling really guilty. If you can stop feeling guilty, then I think it's easier to start doing what you want to do.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Thinking, Conquer The World, Giving

  "How To Be Idle: An Interview with Tom Hodgkinson". Interview with Katie Renz, www.motherjones.com. June 8, 2005.

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• The terrible thing about the internet and Amazon is that they take the magic and happy chaos out of book shopping. The internet might give you what you want, but it won't give you what you need.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Book, Shopping, Giving

  "The best things in life are..." by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. January 6, 2007.

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• There's nothing new about anti-work philosophy. History is dotted with individuals and groups who decided that laziness was next to godliness and work was a waste of time.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Philosophy, Groups, Laziness

  "Idle thoughts" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. March 18, 2006.

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• Guilt is also a way for us to express to others that we are a person of good conscience. 'I feel really guilty about getting drunk last night,' we say, when in actual fact we feel no guilt whatsoever or, at least, we could choose to feel no guilt. When people say to me, 'I drank too much last night,' I always reply, 'I drank exactly the right amount.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Night, Drunk, People

  Tom Hodgkinson (2006). “How to be Free”

  7 Copy quote

• Faffing of course does not fit the programme. We are supposed to be busy, productive citizens.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Doe, Citizens, Busy

  "The joy of simply faffing around" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. August 12, 2008.

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• The reason laziness is rarely pushed as a lifestyle option is down to one simple reason: money. There are fortunes to be made out of active lifestyles. Gyms charge fees. But no one is going to make money out of sleep. It is free.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Sleep, Simple, Laziness

  "Live lazy, live long - look at Britain's oldest man" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. November 5, 2012.

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• ...[W]e should be mucking about all the time, because mucking about is enjoying life for its own sake, now, and not in preparation for an imaginary future. It's obvious that the mirth-filled man, the cheerful soul, the childish adult is the one who has least to fear from life.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Men, Enjoy Life, Soul

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• The world's richest half billion people - that's about seven per cent of the global population - are responsible for fifty per cent of the world's emissions.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  People, Population, Half

  "Shakespeare had no BlackBerry and Aristotle mananged without an iPhone" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. November 10, 2009.

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• Writing a book is a brilliant thing because once you've finished it, you've done it, and there's the potential for it to go on earning you a living without you doing any more work on it. It's absolutely ideal for an idler.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Book, Writing, Idlers

  "How To Be Idle: An Interview with Tom Hodgkinson". Interview with Katie Renz, www.motherjones.com. June 8, 2005.

  4 Copy quote

• Punk was a protest against work and against boredom. It was a sign of life, a rant, a scream, a rejection of bourgeois morals. But have things improved since then? Arguably, they've got worse.

  Tom Hodgkinson

  Boredom, Rejection, Moral

  "Idle thoughts" by Tom Hodgkinson, www.theguardian.com. June 23, 2006.

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