Who is sick of hearing this? Like being busy is now a badge of honour and heaven forbid if you are not busy well then simply you should be.
Busy, busy, busy, well now isn't that great. This week I was in a very small space, a coffee shop that just does take away and this small man (I mention this as I feel he felt maybe shouting would ensure we all knew he was there!!) came in and literally roared the house down. I will write the next bit in caps for effect. " HOWYA, YES OH MY GOD YES I AM SO BUSY, SO BUSY, JUST FLAT OUT -UP THE WALLS" if he could have thrown another "I'm so busy analogy" at it he would of.
All I was thinking was why is he shouting, there is three of us here and if he even tries to make eye contact with me I could cry! He proceeded to roar the BUSY LINES for 3 minutes to the poor barista who clearly wanted to hand in her notice and sprint out the door, never to return. What a conversation stopper not starter.
Sometimes, just because I am this way inclined, I answer when someone asks " Are you busy?" with a "No, no I am not" they don't know where to look or actually what to do! So on a call with my sister this week, we started talking about this. She is in London working and we both laughed about how Irish people now lead with the weather but follow up with "Are you busy?" We both lead different lives, she is a corporate high powered executive and I am a self employed business owner. Both busy, but in different ways.
I think it was during Celtic tiger times that we all became obsessed with being busy and if you weren't, well then you weren't happening, you were at some level a failure. We are so marinated in the culture of speed- we equate living the fast life as living the good life. There is almost a cultural taboo about slowing it down- that this means being lazy.
But staying fast, busy and go go go, just allows us to never stop and ask the questions we should be asking.
How am I really?
How is my life?
Am I living true to myself?
As someone who has alot of interests and does have alot of business commitments, yes I am busy, but so is the working mother, the stay at home father and the thousands of young bucks starting out in their specific fields. I don't think my busy triumphs your busy and vice a versa. But this is what is happening. It is a busy off between people and do you know what it needs to stop.
Ah just a thought, shouldn't we be working smarter, not harder. The office martyrs that go to work at 5am and are there until 11pm, well that to me isn't working smart. That is not life. Life is about experience and contribution. What are you experiencing and what are you contributing to yourself, the people you love and the people who you should be helping? The art of slowing down for me will be the next wellness buzz. But I hope it's one that sticks.
As always it all starts in the mind, and boy are our minds busy. Most people didn't even realise the internal struggles and dialogue they have with themselves. Connecting with yourself and awakening yourself is a journey we are all on but many ignore. I through reading, education and mediation have finally slowed myself down. There are times when I physically have to say to myself, calm down there Lisa.
Slow it down, take your time and do things right. You see this for me is the way to flow and the way to roll.
The Busy, busy, busy frantic talk is so draining not just for the person saying it but for the people that have to listen to it. I think we all need to look at what we are doing and what we are doing it for?
Simple questions like the following might help anyone I feel to figure out what is they want:
What do you live for?
What are your standards?
What brings you joy?
What will you tolerate?
What are you willing to die for?
So are you busy?
