The Sunday Gardener
The Sunday Gardener by John Falter
I've been thinking about this painting all week, I can't get it out of my mind.
In 1960, artist John Falter painted The Sunday Gardener, a scene depicting two neighboring homes on a quiet Sunday afternoon. On one side, a man who spends the day working on his yard, while next door his neighbor sleeps comfortably, surrendered into a chair on his porch.
When describing the painting, the original description notes that both men “seek relaxation in activities which provide a change of pace from their workaday pursuits”, just in different ways. One is a handyman who enjoys spending Sunday doing very little. The other is an executive who finds joy in rolling up his sleeves and working with his hands. Neither seems concerned with what the other is doing, and neither appears interested in performing for the other.
What struck me is how often we think rest is supposed to look a certain way.
For some, rest looks like a hammock, a nap, and a good book. For others, it looks like finally having that time to work in the garden, to build a shelf in the garage, to tune up that old motorcycle, or spend an afternoon cooking a meal from scratch.
Perhaps the goal isn't to imitate someone else's version of rest. Perhaps the goal is simply to make enough space in life to discover your own.
To me, the beauty of the painting is the wholehearted expression of each neighbor’s day off. Neither is performing for the other, and from the looks of it, neither is concerned what the other thinks.
In a culture that often turns rest into another thing to optimize, there is something refreshing about two neighbors spending a sunny Sunday afternoon exactly how they want to spend it.
Food For Thought
What does genuine rest actually look like for you?
You do not need a digital detox.
You just need a day (a week).
Get a life,
Analog Sunday
The Rhythm
Every Analog Sunday is built around five simple practices:
Eat something made with care.
Play without keeping score.
Make something with your hands.
Read something that expands your mind.
Rest without feeling guilty.