"It Is Good That You Exist"

Rather than writing my own article, as has been done before I will write a preface before directing you to read a more well-written work. This article is about leisure and learning to relax well - in a nutshell - so read it that way, but I also want you to read it with the title of this article in mind: "It is good that you exist." This idea is covered in the beginning of the article, but I want you to think on this as you read the article. To acknowledge a person's existence is a good thing, and to appreciate their existence is a right thing.

When you ignore a person then you disrespect the very gift given to each of us by God, the fact that we exist. Life is a gift, to be is a gift from the Almighty. In the Hindu religion there is the Caste system where those of a lesser class, so to speak, are to stay away from those in the upper-Castes and those higher up in society should ignore those lower than them to avoid being tainted by those they deem to be lesser. In marriage pretending your spouse isn't there is a precursor to divorce. As a parent when you're in Mass and you ignore your kids misbehaving you show that they don't deserve your attention, and those around you see that neither they themselves, nor your children matter and that it is only your experience on Sunday that matters.

A few caveats here. By saying that you should recognize and appreciate the existence of another person this does not mean that you should allow them to take up all of your time and deprive you of spending time with others. There are things that need to get done, you have obligations to spend time with others, so it is right of you to cut off time spent with others in order to give what is due to those who have a right to your time. As well, I am not saying that you must "recognize" their existence as they see it by entertaining a delusion of theirs that does not match up with reality. When I speak of delusion, I mean a woman who claims that the world is out to get her when it is not, a man who thinks that it is the fault of his boss that he is not getting a promotion rather than his poor performance, or a person who demands to be treated as the sex they were not born into. There are many more examples I could give, but these will suffice for now.

You should not "recognize" these false realities held by these individuals because it would be cruel to do so. Someone wise once said that because God made us rational beings that we have a right to the truth. If you are a parent then you will know that your children do not have the right to all of the truth all of the time, but neither should you throw the truth out and fool them into a lie.

You exist, and you will continue to exist - forever. This is a good thing. If you do not know how already, you need to learn how to exist well and enjoy life. Enjoy your life, and help others to enjoy theirs as well, and to do so you will need to learn how to live both in activity and leisure. That brings us to the below article, which I hope you will enjoy.

https://catholicgentleman.com/2024/03/leisure-the-basis-of-manliness/

Written for the Smoke&Flame Men's bonfire, by Ethan Hall