Busy used to be a verb, but now it’s used as a noun. To paraphrase Descartes; “I’m busy, therefore I am”. Ask most people how they are, and the answer you’ll get is: ‘Busy’. For some, being busy is a state of being. The status symbol of busyness is all around us. People are busy at work and busy at home. We are all trying to keep up with the human race.
The thing about being busy is that it allows us to absent ourselves from life. Busy is a form of procrastination. We fool ourselves that the only thing stopping us from achieving greatness is that we are just too busy. Ironically, the pandemic gave us a pause button, but for most it was temporary. We all quickly found other things to keep us busy like the house or garden improvements. After all, busyness, like gas, expands to fill the volume of space available.
The solution for being busy is generally to go on holidays, but even that is fraught with activity. The right location and accommodation, new experiences, perfect photographs and a whole new genre of activity holidays. Some of us even bring work on holidays!
Instead of waiting for a mythical one or two weeks a year to not be busy, might it be possible to take a daily holiday? None of us can make time, but we can reserve. Pick 5 minutes a day to do nothing. Literally just sit or lie somewhere quiet, close your eyes and take a mental holiday – not planning or scheming, just drifting. Remove yourself from the busy, no social, no sounds.
On this holiday there is no destination or things to be done. You are just taking time to savour the journey of not having to be anywhere or do anything. Be busy doing nothing instead.
