I’m busy. You’re busy. We’re all busy. Our spouses are busy. Our friends are busy. Our brothers are busy. Our sisters are busy. Even our one-year-olds have packed calendars.
More and more we find we are too busy for everything. Too busy to do this or do that; to volunteer at church or help at your kids’ school; certainly too busy to take on anything else.
And definitely, during the holidays, too busy to be nice to those you live with, work with and see on a daily basis.
Even in this slow economy, most of us claim we are working so hard and are so involved in so much that we can’t find one spare minute to do anything anyone might ask.
But what are we so busy doing? And what are we so busy not doing?
How is it possible, that I, You, We have become the very busiest people in the United States? So busy, that not one other person has the load we do, keeping us swamped 24 hours out of every day and 7 days out of every week, including holidays.
And if we’re asked to interrupt our lives to attend some stupid awards banquet or kids’ show, then the whole world will disintegrate, and we’re duty-bound to let every person there, including our kids, know what an inconvenience it was to take time from our busy schedules.
In reality, no one short of a world leader is as busy as most us avow to be. We’ll wager most of us aren’t nearly as busy as we feel – that is if we ever slowed down to really think about it.
Busy and rushed are the emotions du jour––that is if you’re successful, a good parent, good Christian and solid member of the community, then you must be busy handling important duties. And if you’re not that busy, then you’re obviously not any of those superlatives listed above.
Admitting “I’m pretty relaxed – have some free time – could maybe catch a movie,” is like saying, “I don’t work hard. Ain’t successful. Slacking somewhere.”
You know, if you want to be someone, you’d better get busy getting busy, you know.
Or, to correct this constant flutter, do yourself and everyone around you a big favor. Evaluate two things: (1) Are you really that busy? (2) How important are the chores you are tending?
But before you answer, you’d best define “busy” (to paraphrase a former president).
To continue your mostly insignificant existence on this planet, you must eat, drink and breathe. In addition, it’s considered positive if you maintain employment, a residence, and see that your kids are clothed and fed. Anything much beyond that counts in the bonus points column.
In other words, rec league sports, church committees, PTA meetings and civic groups are expendable. If they’re causing you great aggravation, forget them. You and your kids don’t have to participate––really you don’t.
There are a few other duties that pop up from time-to-time, requiring us to clutter the to-do list. And these do honestly put legitimate stress on a person. Yes, you’re obliged to help elderly parents or struggling kids, but many of the things we complain most loudly about are things we have chosen to take on. Do remember the time you spend with kids at basketball practice, with peers at a morning club meeting or kin at a family reunion is relaxation time (no matter how annoying your cousin/uncle/aunt/brother-in-law may be). And if you don’t have time to make your famous sweet potato casserole this year, go buy one. Problem solved.
Before the fangs of the holiday season take their bite, take time to make yourself less busy.
With the economy slow and the holidays here, if you’re really too busy and rushed to be pleasant and help out occasionally, there is a problem, and it’s with you, not your calendar. |
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