STOP GLORIFYING BUSY

That’s my wish.

I see people updating their social media statuses mentioning how busy they are.  Hyping up the latest gigs they scored. The cool projects they may be involved in. Racing off to meetings to discuss said projects.

So self-absorbed in their “busy” life.

Micro-managing their schedule to fit it all in.  Squeezing in yoga class when the whole premise of yoga is quite the opposite.  Constantly lugging around our iPads to stay connected and post a status update or Instagram what we’re up to.  Scheduling in dinners with friends two weeks in advance, making the meeting seem forced rather than a genuine friendship.  Taking on more responsibilities in the office in the hopes that one day it may pay off.  Trying to see and be seen when the feeling of exhaustion is setting it.  Scheduling holidays just to get away and sleep before connecting through the wi-fi.  Because we’re SO busy.  And important (?).

Because busy is new the sexy.

I used to live like that.

But then I realized something.

That busy is the perfect solution to dealing with a struggle.  A way to suppress what needs to be confronted.  But busy allows us to put that on the back-burner and let other thoughts consume our energy.

You see I had something really horrible happen to me.  Something that changed my life.  And I didn’t know how to deal it.

So I turned to busy.

I packed my days so full that I didn’t have time to deal with the fear, the anger, and the hurt, but rather focused on the “fun” of being busy.

And my busy life was glorious.

Until a slow period came along.  And I wasn’t busy.  I couldn’t find anything to keep my busy if I tried.

So there I was, face to face with my emotions.  Having to face my problems.  And it was horrible.  Suddenly being busy was not as cool as it may seem.  Because eventually things will slow down.  And the problems will catch up.  And it won’t be glamourous.  Or sexy.

And that’s when you’ll need your friends around.  But won’t have the desire to wait two weeks for them to schedule you in to your busy life.

This weekend I hope you have the chance to de-busy.  And make plans to stop glorifying busy.