So busy!

In reading this great post by Omid Safi, The Disease of Being Busy a lot resonated with me. Far too often I've answered the question, "How are you doing?" with "I'm so busy!" It's true - we are all "so busy"; nearly to the point of death, in some cases. It's not only taken over our lives but it's become a badge of honor, something we hold forth as a worth accomplishment. It's NOT! We need to stop trying to do so much that we cannot simply be.
There's a slide that I reference in the IBP (Integral Business Program that we teach at Improving) that asks:

What is something you should do less efficiently so that you can do it more thoroughly?

In terms of my life, it's connecting. It's spending time finding out how are people doing. Not what are they doing but the state of their being. We tend to share our to-do lists, our activities, and even some of the things that may be distracting us but rarely do we share the state of our feelings. When was the last time you shared what you fear? When was the last time you asked someone what they were feeling right this moment? For me, I've started with the people in my family first - I no longer ask, "How are you?" but rather, "What are you feeling right now?" Given that I have a couple of teenage daughters, it's certainly gotten me some eye-rolls and sighs but the reality is that it's the very thing I want to know. I challenge you today to ask at least one person:

How is the state of your heart today?