I had an interesting conversation with one of my new colleagues the other day, as we got to chatting and I mentioned I didn't have a TV and didn't read newspapers (I was pleased to discover that Black Swan guru Taleb shares this philosophy of reclaiming meaningful leisure time). He asked me what on earth I did with my time then, and I couldn't answer simply. I now understand that most of it is spent merely distilling my experiences, trying to develop a great level of connectivity and understanding with myself and those I care for, and musing on life generally. There is a comfort in vague wanderings of the imagination, taking small flights with the bird of creativity, that is grounded by the mundane working day. While the working day steals muse-time, most people don't even notice or appreciate the value of these flights of fancy; like the jailer in Murakami's "End of the world" that steal shadows from people who enter the village. "Soon you won't care about your shadow any more", the jailer reassures the main character. "Then you can live your life happily ever after".

- Longtail