Out of courtesy, when we come across people that we know, we often ask, "How are you?" and most of the time, we are 1) hoping for a short response, and 2) expecting "fine," "good," or "busy" as a response. Anything other than that will usually catch us off guard. I'd like to focus in today on the "busy" answer to that question.
Recently, I've been doing more thinking about busy-ness, and how it seems like everyone is so busy all the time. But what are we so busy with? Honestly - what is taking up so much of our time and making us so darn busy all of the time? And is this busy-ness adding joy and happiness to our lives or is it taking away from our lives?
I think we all know the answer to that question.
What are we so busy with all of the time? Work, baseball practice, weddings, checking social media, running errands, cooking, cleaning...the list goes on and on. Our days are filled to the brim as we run from one thing to the next. But really, is it worth it?
Is it worth it to be constantly on the go?
Is it worth it to never have a spare second to yourself to just breathe?
Is it worth it to rarely see your family or friends because you are at work all of the time?
Is it worth it to lead such a busy life?
We fill our days with all of these activities to keep ourselves busy so that when we do get a split second to relax and breathe by ourselves, we feel lost, anxious, or uncertain of what to do. This could lead us down a couple of roads of thought:
1 - Are we keeping ourselves so busy as to take our mind off of something else (financial worry, marital problems, health stressers)?
2- Are we keeping ourselves busy because we don't like spending time with ourselves - alone?
3 - Are we keeping ourselves busy because it is what society has deemed as socially acceptable or the standard to be a good person?
We are so busy all of the time that we don't have time for the things that we actually need like exercising, cooking nourishing foods, spending time with friends and family, going on a walk in nature, or relaxing with a good book. And over time, keeping up the busy-ness and not making time for the things our bodies actually need and crave causes our health to deteriorate.
I've always found it interesting that we never start to make these activities (aka our health) a priority until we are forced to after a diabetes or cancer diagnosis, a stern warning/wake-up call from your doctor, a complete hormonal and adrenal crash. or some other awful diagnosis.
Why do we let the busy-ness consume our entire being until it's almost too late?
Don't let yourself fall into that trap. When you are on your death bed, will you regret that you weren't "more busy" during life, or will you regret not taking the time to smell the roses and enjoy life?
Think about it - is your busy-ness every single day worth it? Could you use a bit more non-busy time in your life? What activities can you cut from your life to make it more enjoyable and manageable? It isn't easy, but I promise that it will be worth it.
xoxo Olivia
