Useless!

That's what my parents used to say about anything that was not necessary for survival or for making money. Sport, leisure or just idleness were all useless. Not mentioned, but implied, was recovery after a (work-related) accident or a sickness.

Anything that was done to fortify the body or the mind (except going to church) fell into that “useless”, thus undesirable and wasted category.

In all fairness to my parents, they had been on “survival-mode” since the day of the birth and only useful acts and thoughts were essential to their salvation.

There was no room for futile pursuits during their entire lifetime. If upon my passing my parents ever end up being right about their beliefs, and after all is said and done, I will have spent a lot of time and efforts “uselessly” for my entire life...