Spontaneity rediscovered | Press

Have you seen it? Savored? On a whim, it is again possible to invite a friend, why not sit in the cafe, or, let’s be crazy, take the children to the movies? There is a sweet scent of (rediscovered) freedom in the air, that’s clear. Analysis, nuances, and above all advice to preserve this lightness (and we are not talking about health advice here …).

Silvia galipeau
Press

Realized fact: on a beautiful Saturday morning, on the spur of the moment, the sudden urge to go see a play that everyone was talking about took hold of us. Three clicks later, the tickets were reserved. For the same evening, without any other formality.

Then on leaving, we would have a bite to eat, we decided. Or so ? Where hunger and thirst would carry us.

Banality? Not exactly. Remember the last few months: the queues, the planning required for anything, everywhere, for even the smallest activity. As futile as it is. Picking up a bottle of wine required some (and exasperating!) Organization …

If the pandemic is not over, with the easing of restrictions helping, a certain lightness seems to be setting in again. And she does the greatest good.

Spontaneous happiness unpacked

There are two “ways” to be happy, explains David Robichaud, professor of moral and political philosophy at the University of Ottawa. There is this “cerebral” happiness, associated with a certain reflection: “where I am, to what extent I have carried out my projects, etc. », He illustrates, an unfortunately fragile happiness, since often at the mercy of what will be said and, above all, of the comparison. And then, there is this happiness here and now, a more “carpe diem” happiness. “Spontaneity is associated with this second face of happiness,” confirms the philosopher. A happiness where one is not in the great achievements, even less in long-term planning, but in the here, now, right away.

Of course, to have access to it, you still have to have the means. Or rather freedom. “Spontaneity presupposes freedom,” he continues, “conditions of freedom, we must not be overwhelmed by daily tasks […] and you have to have the ability to make a decision quickly. “We understand that in full confinement, with a curfew as a bonus, and the children to be educated, these conditions were not exactly at the rendezvous. Hence the joy of finding them, certainly. “And for now, there is added value to these behaviors, because we missed them! ”

Moreover, the pandemic will perhaps have allowed us to realize how much these freedoms are dear to us: “We realized how much we have a phenomenal level of freedom. […] We became aware of this when nothing was possible in terms of spontaneity except … walking! ”

A spontaneity of lost, ten of found

Rachida Azdouz, psychologist and essayist, to whom we owe a reflection on living together, is more nuanced. Certainly, the pandemic and all its health instructions have deprived us of a certain form of spontaneity (which it defines as a “state of mind”, falling under the “unforeseen”, both “intrinsic” and above all “thoughtless”. ). Gone are the days when we spontaneously kissed a friend, we get along. Our comings and goings are now more calculated and coordinated, mask and health passport oblige.

Another spontaneity? “The spontaneity of occupying one’s time which was intended to do something else! She replies. And this, thanks to the pandemic? Perfectly: a sort of forced spontaneity (“we are swimming in the middle of a paradox”, recognizes the psychologist), in a society where, as a rule, outside of a pandemic, everything is planned and highly organized: work, sport, children, outings. “The pandemic having made certain activities impossible, we were forced to rethink this routine,” she argues. Rethink to spontaneously fill the holes, in a way.

An example ? Impossible to see friends, to receive or to be received? “Hey, how about we go for a twilight walk?” How about having a picnic? », She illustrates.

According to the psychologist, the pandemic and all its prohibitions have thus led us to question our habits: “And when you question,” she said, “you experiment. And you are in spontaneity. ”

His advice? With the reduction of sanitary instructions, and the return to an increasingly normal life, perhaps it would be good to keep certain holes, or “windows open”, to allow certain activities to be infused from time to time. “Unplanned” if it makes us feel good. But beware: it is not necessarily for everyone. As a matter of temperament, some are less comfortable with the lack of organization, and may find it anxious. “We must not fall into the dictatorship of spontaneity either! ”

The case of parental spontaneity

Rachida Azdouz is not alone in thinking that the pandemic has opened up us to unsuspected spontaneous activities. Even if she prefers to speak of “flexibility”, sociologist Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, specialist in human resources management and professor at TELUQ, also believes that the last 18 months have – and, yes, it is “paradoxical”, she admits – brought a good dose of flexibility to Quebecers, especially families.

Supporting study (The paradoxical effect of the pandemic on the work-family relationship: the case of Quebec, published with her colleague Sophie Mathieu in the review Economic interventions), the researcher explains that against all odds, and despite home schooling, the curfew and all that we remember too well, “the reconciliation was easier! “. Easier than at this date the year before the survey (2018), well before the pandemic.

Consult the survey

Why ? In addition to the famous “holes” saved in time, the families did not have the added bonus of “travel time” to school, daycare, or sports activities. “And that perhaps made it possible to organize family activities with more spontaneity,” says the sociologist. Without forgetting teleworking, which has undoubtedly allowed a certain “flexibility” or “room for maneuver” to the workers, compensating for the health constraints which are otherwise so rigid (“a small space of fluidity within all the constraints”). With, for example, the option to go shopping in the morning, or why not go to the SAQ at noon. “The employers were understanding,” also confirms the survey.

So does this mean that to allow yourself to be spontaneous, you still need to have the time? “I think so,” concludes the sociologist. Indeed, to have spontaneous activities, there must be holes in the agenda somewhere. »With that, friends of spontaneity, you know what you have to do …