User:Sleepybikeshed/Sandbox

The Idle Foundation (IF) is a non-profit organisation, set up in 2007 to actively promote the value of focusing on activities other than work, arguing that modern life - and the global political landscape - is wrongly biased towards emphasising 'hard work' rather than communities, social networks and creative activities.

The IF has a diverse membership of all ages backgrounds and nationalities, and it does not cost anything to join. Despite being an online community, it often organises informal social activities and events, and many of its members know each other personally.

While the IF respects dictionary definitions, it points out that the formal definition of 'idle' carries many negative and moralistic connotations, and that this should not be the case.

There is currently no single word in the English language able to communicate the joy of doing very little with one's time - or of engaging in the kind of creative play which (perhaps ironically) leads to great works. To be idle is not always to be lazy, and this is no more strange than acknowledging that busy people do not always achieve a great deal with their lives.

The IF draws on a rich literary tradition, arguably begun by Dr Samuel Johnson's magazine, 'The Idler '. However, the IF is in no way affiliated to the current incarnation of that magazine. Other literary inspirations (to name but a few) are Jerome K Jerome, Epicurus and Henry David Thoreau.

The Idle Foundation can be thought of as a counter-cultural group, and some of its members identify with the Beat Generation of the 1950s and 60s. At this point in history - a time of shifting perspectives, social upheaval and a radical re-evaluation of our relationships with each other and the planet we live on - the IF strongly advocates slowing down, working less and enjoying life to the full.