Eutrapelia

Eutrapelia. It is a virtue which Aristotle described as good wit and urbanity (courtesy and elegance of manner). St. Thomas Aquinas called it pleasantness. And, it is a virtue I have the task of teaching ten 6 - 9 year olds about on Monday.

Well, eutrapelia is actually the virtue of knowing how and when to have a good time! Moderation in all things but it is a sin of defect when we fail to provide ourselves with necessary relaxation. For without eutrapelia, we become a kill-joy (that is one who would confound joy in ourselves or others) or a miser who will not enjoy the goodness God places in our path in our journey in this life.

However, eutrapelia is incomplete without self-control. In our world today, people/media are eager to err on the side of excess rather than moderation.

What eutrapelia is NOT:
pursuit of recreation as your chief occupation;

using time for God inappropriately (skipping Mass to watch/attend sporting event);

misusing time that you are supposed to be working or studying to engage in pleasure pursuits (math work abandoned to play ball, watch tv, etc.)

What eutrapelia IS:

• taking a drive to see the fall colors;
• playing ball with your family;
• watching a movie with popcorn and soda with your family at home;
• going out to dinner on occasion.

It is not Man's lot in life to be wretched. If it were God wouldn't have placed so many pleasurable sights, smells, tastes and sounds in the world to enjoy. All those good things are a reflection of the much greater goodness that is God. Therefore, we should enjoy them and genuinely thank God for the gift of eutrapelia!

Monsignor Giovanni Lajolo on the the virtue of Eutrapelia described it as a "delightful ray from the light of Christ. " Lajolo goes on to say: «Eutrapelia can be described as the virtue of playfulness, as Saint Phillip Neri and Saint John Bosco had it. It is the easing of the bow overbent in physical or spiritual tension. A modern word to define it would be the art of relaxation. Saint Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologica – a famously serious and tightly-strung work, but also olympically serene – speaks of it several times and writes that the human mind snaps if it never “relaxes” from its concerns. Through the virtue of eutrapelia words and actions can be transformed into moments of calm. It shows itself in cheerful play but also comes through in a friendly humorous saying, in a shrewd story or in a spirited conversation." Click here for the complete article.

Our family does practice this virtue quite regularly, thanks in large part to my husband. He is a champion when it comes to taking the kids (and the sometimes half-hearted me) to enjoy simple pleasures in life. He urges our family outdoors to pretend with our kids to camp on the berm or go walk the trails at one of the mountains nearby or just to lie on the living room floor after Mass on a Sunday afternoon to rest or wrestle under the breeze of the ceiling fan.

This Sunday, we'll practice eutrapelia with a simple hamburger cookout with friends at our house. How fortunate we are to do so!