Who isn’t these days? But busy is the sign of a wonderful, full life, so I’m not going to complain. I am not actually the right person to be juggling all of these balls because multi-tasking makes me break out in hives, but I’d rather be scrambling to fit it all in than sitting around thinking that life is boring.
May I share with you some acquired wisdom? (After all, I am 58. I hope there has been some wisdom acquiring done along the way.)
In the past when I have been frantically busy, I allowed it to get the best of me. I wore it as a victim’s badge of honor. My attitude was “You have no idea how busy I am. I am so busy. Do not add anything to my to-do list because I am already being crushed under the burden of my busy-ness. Well…okay…I can add one more thing…if you really need me…” That leads to the blame game. I complained: “Can you believe it? Can you believe what they have asked me to do? As though I am not already so busy that I can barely see the light at the end of the tunnel. Am I not a wonderful person for agreeing to do so many things for so many people?”
Enough of that. You know the type. I was that type.
That is where the wisdom comes in. I am still busy, but I focus on filling my time with the things that make me happy. Happiness includes real joy, like being with and doing things for my family and friends. It also means the satisfaction of a job completed and well done no matter how hard the process was, such as finishing writing a book. It means the contentment of helping someone with something that is important to them. It means spending time in a way that helps me grow as a person–in meditation, in workshops, in classes, in discussions with people who know more than I do, including the children I work with every day.
So I am still busy, but I try to hyper-focus on what I am doing in the moment that I am doing it, so that I take the memory of it away with me as clearly as a photograph. I want to close my eyes and feel the way I felt when I was doing it. Like writing this blog. Not too many followers–yet–but real joy from reaching out into the world to connect with others who have the same interests and concerns, or who I can–in some small way–offer comfort, encouragement, or a respite from all the negativity in the world.
Enjoy your living. Or as Joseph Campbell would say, “Follow your bliss.”
bethwarstadt.com 