Stopping the busyness

I'm often in conversation with people about how busy we all are.  And for many of us it seems to be a good thing and I suppose as I've reflected on my propensity to be busy and fill up my time, I've found myself asking what benefit does all this busyness has?  Does it benefit us as individuals racing through the world?  Does it benefit those we love?  Does it even benefit our workplaces?  It seems to me that the answer to any of these questions is pretty much "no".

A few years ago I was travelling; moving from place to place and through places, either walking cycling or driving.  The times I most treasured were when we stopped, because, at those times I’d suddenly see magical things going on around me.  In the mountains, small animals went about their lives, in cities people were hurrying, relaxing, talking, watching and in amongst all that were beautiful or interesting flowers, shops, buildings, parks and wildlife that were easy to miss when I was just passing through.  As I noticed this more, I found more excuses to stop quietly and enjoy the richness that teamed around me.  

I was reminded of this yesterday when I read a blog post by Charles Eisenstein  about an encounter he had child in a playpen. He reflected that interacting with that baby may have been the most important thing that he did that day in amongst all his other work.  In doing that, he highlighted the abundance and potential that every moment holds.  I found myself thinking how easy it is to forget this in out rush to do things that seem important or, worse, things that are not.

 It might be good to stop and think about this.  I'm not implying that making these changes is easy.  For me to slow down, for example, I had to work through a number of issues that arose: taking a large cut in pay, worrying about the future, and feeling unimportant because I was no longer rushing from one meeting to the next are a few of the issues that arose. I had to step out of the mainstream and to find enjoyment in different things.  The beauty of it is that I have and that I'm happier living this way.  Occasionally I choose to be busy but I know that it will end and because it is a contrast I can  enjoy it consciously. 

Trying to pack a lot into our lives or trying to be highly productive is not necessarily going to make us, or our loved ones happy (the opposite often happens, in fact), and neither is it good for the planet.  Being mindlessly busy is a trap that does not make us happy or productive and which keeps us all from seeing the things that we should or could be doing instead.