I’m at a point in my life now where I feel I finally understand why academia (and other adjacent professions, like the clergy) have the institution of the sabbatical.
My mind is nearly boiling over with various thoughts, ideas, and questions, all of which I’d enjoy digging into or pursuing intellectually in some way, none of which really have much to do with my work (and none of which have to do with my day to job). I don’t have the mental space to think and reason and research and explore and discuss any of that, because I have professional, family, and community obligations that demand (and deserve) my attention and focus in the short term. I don’t have the means of clearing the deck, as it were, to create space for broader thoughts.
What I really want to do is make myself a martini or pour a glass of Scotch and sit at my desk and write.
But it’s noon on a Monday.
One thought on “On sabbaticals”
At noon on Monday I was halfway through an excruciating call. Around 12:15, I looked up and, as if it was calling me, saw the bottle of Scotch.
I managed to hold off, but it was close.