productivity?

People often ask, “So what do you do?”. And the answer is, “Well, not a lot!”.

I have been thinking about the idea of being “productive”. It has become a virtue. Like “conforming”, the other modern virtue, it concerns objectivity. My value as an individual is measured by what I can objectively produce.

But this “producing” has little to do with life. Productivity is not about subsistence but surplus. Objectification makes me an object that can be defined and valued. Productivity makes me a means to an end for someone else.

So maybe the solitary life is about not being an object and not being productive. It is about a relationship with the Other that cannot be measured and is not judged by what it does. It is about a life that says, “I love you and expect nothing in return” – I love you for Love’s sake.

Anyway …