More Busy

"Rich people have money; wealthy people have time" – Margaret Bonnano

While I'm not sure I entirely agree, I do appreciate the sentiment. What are we doing with our time? I've written about being busy before (So Busy) and, recently, I've started paying more attention to what people say when I ask, "How are you doing?". The responses are usually some form of, "I'm really busy" or "Life's good but busy". We are all infected by "busy" and I not only do I think it's not healthy, I think it's the wrong thing to focus on.

I recently asked this question of someone (and then immediately realized I need to ask myself this), "What are you trading this day of your life for?" There's always a variety of things that we could be doing in a day; some out of necessity (groceries, dropping kids off, work, etc.), some because they're good for us (working out, meditating), and some out of personal goals (taking a class to learn something new, going on a trip). I'm sure there are other reasons but you get the idea. The point is that we are, daily, trading our life for something. The question is, "Is it the right something?" You can only really answer this if you know what you're aiming for. What your purpose is. What you're trying to achieve. I know it's hard work to define (mostly because I've spent time doing it and am still spending time refining it) but it helps me know where I am and whether or not I'm trading my life for the things I want.

Now when people ask me how I'm doing, "I'm on mission" or "I'm not on mission" are my 2 standard responses. There can be any number of reasons for either answer; both good and challenging, but there cannot be a "busy" answer given my awareness of what I'm doing.