People are Busy
Something has been on my mind — the fact that everyone seems so busy. You ask someone how they are, and the likelihood of them saying “Oh good/fine/not well, busy…” is like 99.99% of the time. Flip that around, the chance of you hearing someone is not busy is equal to the chance of you running through a wall successfully.
It bothers me because I really wonder, how did we become so busy? Can we really all be that busy? What do people do?
You want to spend time and hang out with friends, and everyone seems to be busy.
I mean, look, I have a lot of things to do too, like my job, side projects, choir, singing/piano lessons and practice, workout/exercise routine, writing for the blog, reading to keep up with learning, spending time with my niece as much as I can (I live in South Bay and she’s in East Bay). Despite all that, I don’t think that I am busy. At least, I do my best to not get stuck with a I-am-busy mindset. I mean it in the way that I will allocate the time to be leisurely and to spend with people I enjoy. Of course, it’s tough when everyone else is busy!
It is at the point when I want to spend time with people, and I feel like I always need to give 2+ weeks ahead notice to make arrangement and setup outting. How tiring! Can we just hang out, if I call you on the same day? Maybe not… but how about I call a day or two ahead? And I don’t mean doing anything fancy. Maybe just sit and chat (hopefully not about work)? Simply zipping tea or coffee? Talk about a book? Talk about life? Sit together quietly enjoying some scenery?
Are people being busy for the sake of being busy because they are modern people, because they have to be doing something? Is doing nothing a crime?
Maybe we don’t always have to be accomplishing something.
Are people busy because they spend so much time working, and then commuting, being tired, and being couch potato the rest of the time?
Are people busy because they waste so much time on toxic relationships?
Could being busy be just a mindset?
Here’s what happen when people are always busy or think they are busy
They neglect their health.
Not being healthy, they have even less energy to do other things.
They neglect the people around them, people they love, or who they *think* they love.
They forget to breathe.
They forget about being happy.
They forget to live.
Perhaps it is not about how much you do, but what you choose to do every moment.
Can you help me answer?
Maybe I am just whining too much.
You can tell me, but obviously, I am not a fan of the concept of being busy.
Originally posted 2008-11-22 22:36:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
You took the words right out of my mouth. This is my own experience too, and quite frustrating. Perhaps we are always ‘busy’ because it’s an excuse not to work on the difficult stuff. Finding meaning and happiness is hard work, so rather than doing that, we instead try to preoccupy ourselves with other stuff, so we don’t get reminded of how empty our lives are.
I understand that some people really are busy, but I think we can all benefit from an idle coffee chat with a friend, watching the world go by, and not talking about work.
I totally agree with you and rob. I am planning on making December my unbusy month. So WHAT if people think I’m lazy? :P
@rob – I would looooooove to find the idle time AND a friend, who is willing, to watch the world go by quietly sometimes.
@FB – Let’s be lazy together! :)