Think about this for a minute. Do you routinely tell people how busy you are? Do you wear it like a badge of honor? What, exactly, are you doing?
Somewhere along the way, we began to think people who are perpetually busy are more important. Or maybe I should say self important. We all have at least one friend or acquaintance who is always so incredibly busy they can’t find the time to do, well, almost anything. They spend so much time running here or there, doing this or that and then complaining about how they don’t have time to relax.
What we do with our time is a CHOICE. We can choose to say “yes” or “no” to an activity. We can choose to sit down for a minute and just relax. I personally love down time. It’s relaxing and refreshing to not have to go somewhere or do something.
I think part of the reason we, as a society, feel so stressed and overwhelmed most of the time is that we don’t take a break from all the mental and visual stimulation. There are times I “take a day off from life”. It’s hard sometimes to just say NO to doing chores around the house or running errands. I feel guilty sitting on the patio to read a book or float around in the pool. Guilty because I should be DOING SOMETHING.
And yet, if we take an hour or two to just regroup and rest our brains we will likely be far more productive later. Our minds are far more likely to “problem solve” when we allow our thoughts to drift. If you have ever wondered why you come up with such great ideas when in the shower, it’s because it is one of the few places we are alone with our thoughts.
Quieting the mind is one of the most difficult parts of meditation and one of the biggest reasons people give up before they even start. Or maybe we are just afraid of our thoughts. Afraid to deal with all those issues that need to be dealt with. Afraid of what we really should be doing. Afraid of having difficult conversations with our loved ones. So we bury ourselves in “busyness” to avoid.
What are you running from or what are you trying to avoid? Sit down, turn off the electronics, take a deep breath and just quiet your mind. Prepare to be amazed.
We all have the same 24 hours in each day. How we choose to use it is up to each of us individually. You make so many excellent points in regard to use, or misuse, of our time. Avoidance being a chief reason, I think, for many of us to misuse. I would only add that I have found it helpful and satisfying to make the people in my life more important than the things in my life. It is also important for me to find a balance between work activities, including housework/yardwork, and leisure/fun activities.
Mixed in with this idea – or thought process – was how time we spend taking care of the “stuff” in our life. That is the next post, it was too hard to do both ideas at once without going off on tangents.:-) For the purposes of this post, the “busyness” relates mostly to activities – like work or social activities.
I’m running in a slower gear these days – especially in off time – we still go out probably two nights each week – which is important. Not “work” important; just “doing things together” important. When we’re home – it’s generally quiet time with something good on pay-per-view. And we love to eat – so we spend time in the kitchen too.
I think it’s important to slow down and just chill. Some people just live life at a frantic pace and yet never seem to appreciate or enjoy SOMETHING each day. Cooking together is always good!
This is how we like to chill in Texas – of course this was early spring so still a little chilly outside. http://www.flickr.com/photos/texasstoryteller/9269961453/
And, yes, everyone in Texas DOES wear cowboy boots…
I would SO LOVE to have a fireplace of some sort. Of course, it wouldn’t get much use here but man that is a peaceful looking place. You know, I have never been to Texas but my nephew recently moved to Houston so there’s a chance I might make it there at some point
Well – Houston is the hands-down worst place in Texas to visit (or live) – yuck. But there’s a lot to do across the state – mountains on one end – desert in the middle – tall pine trees on the other end – cattle, oil, finance, universities, history – whatever you need they have it here somewhere.
You feel about Houston the same way I feel about Miami. Most people who live outside of Miami consider it an “armpit”. I’ll get to Texas one day. 🙂