A reel of silver thread and a wooden weaving shuttle rest beside a loose loop of thread.

Original artwork, not a still

Adventures in Contentment

Ray Stannard Baker

For many years, and I can say it truthfully, I never rested. I neither thought nor reflected. I had no pleasure, even though I pursued it fiercely during the brief respite of vacations. Through many feverish years I did not work: I merely produced.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker looks back on years of ceaseless activity that left no room for rest, thought or real enjoyment. Even holidays became a fierce hunt for pleasure. They judge that period harshly: it was not genuine work but mere output, driven and feverish.

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