In praise of idleness

It is a Friday evening and I am quite kicked about the approaching weekend. After a fairly nice day, I decide to come home early. As I approach my building, to my horror I realize that there is no electricity. Hoping and praying that it would come back soon, I decide to go about small chores in the house. After having eaten, used all the candles and the batteries in the torch to read newspapers I decide to take a power nap. After 2 more hrs I realize that I have killed a mosquito, played minesweeper (after the stark realization that I have no games on my phone ! ) spoken to my parents, texted my boss and even checked emails on my phone courtesy GPRS but no signs of electricity yet. As I seriously contemplate going back to work , I decide to use the last few mins of the battery charge to type this post.
Light failures at home always used to be a time to listen to childhood stories of my parents and each one was like a treasure being pulled out of a chest but as I am alone, this time is killing me. I am not sure what to do. This makes me suddenly realize that not only am I slave to technology, I feel alien to the concept of idleness. Bertrand Russell has written an essay on this topic and even criticized the education system for not inculcating this virtue. I wish I could gaze at the starry night and ponder about all the times that have gone by and all the time to come but that psyches me out completely. As I curse myself of failing to enjoy the small things in life, I realize it is time to change. Hope the realization of this fact makes me discover something about my own self if not gravity like Newton !