I heard about this essay by famed playwright Tennessee Williams a few weeks back, but finally got around to reading it on a flight yesterday. An excellent read that connects directly with the War of Art audio book I recently finished and the Neil Gaiman commencement speech I posted a few weeks ago. In what could be termed as psychological entropy, success (or more correctly the trappings of success) actually increases resistance.
This excerpt give you the gist (but it’s really not too long, so you should just read the whole thing):
But life should require a certain minimal effort. You should not have too many people waiting on you, you should have to do most things for yourself. Hotel service is embarrassing. Maids, waiters, bellhops, porters and so forth are the most embarrassing people in the world for they continually remind you of inequities which we accept as the proper thing. The sight of an ancient woman, gasping and wheezing as she drags a heavy pail of water down a hotel corridor to mop up the mess of some drunken overprivileged guest, is one that sickens and weighs upon the heart and withers it with shame for this world in which it is not only tolerated but regarded as proof positive that the wheels of Democracy are functioning as they should without interference from above or below. Nobody should have to clean up anybody else’s mess in this world. It is terribly bad for both parties, but probably worse for the one receiving the service.
I have been corrupted as much as anyone else by the vast number of menial services which our society has grown to expect and depend on. We should do for ourselves or let the machines do for us, the glorious technology that is supposed to be the new light of the world
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