Fred Jüssi: A man’s life is measured by his ease

After the multifaceted Fred Jüssi died this year, Hiiumaa declared his birthdate, 29 January, to be a day of general idling. That’s because alongside everything else he was known for – from nature writer, photographer to scientist – Jüssi was a devotee of the art of doing nothing.

“In my time living on Hiiumaa, I’ve heard some good sayings from the islanders, and one of them is that laziness determines longevity. By knowing how to loaf, you preserve yourself. It’s something that has to be learned, it’s not at all easy to learn to laze around. It’s a path for going deep into the essence of things.”

Fred Jüssi

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Jüssi would have turned 90 this year. In typical fashion, Fred left the party just a few months before his round-number anniversary. Instead of a celebration for the ages, the world would have to settle for his huge trove of nature photos, recordings of nature sounds, books. articles and pearls of wisdom.

Jüssi often noted that people shouldn’t constantly be toiling away but need to find time for just existing. Constant haste and busy-ness, he maintained, takes us farther from ourselves; doing nothing brings back contentment and balance.

Nature, in which Jüssi was always at home, is an ideal place for taking time out, being in the thrall of silence and natural rhythms that contribute to deeper meditation on the state of things. We’re not talking about killing time here, but chance to notice the deeper nuances of life and perceive the beauty of the world around us. In nature, we can let our mind go and simply float, in the moment, without aim or expectations.

So, 29 January will be a day on which to stop rushing around, and find moments to just be; a day to fast from employment duties, social media, tidying the home and other activities that take up our attention constantly – and focus on silence, nature and ourselves.

As to whether you do it in the backwoods, as Jüssi sugested, or around a fire in your backyard or your own room or garret, that’s up to you. What’s key is that the doing of nothing has to be genuine, not just taking a day off work and filling it with other various substitute activities. Though certainly taking off work is important: the islanders also call on employers to give people an extra day off work or letting employees off early on 29 January.

The article was published in GoHiiumaa 2025 magazine. Text by Jaano Martin Ots, photo by Viru Filmifond.