I don’t know about
you, but the world sure seems to be spinning at an alarming rate. It’s a wonder I don’t go flying off into
outer space from the centrifugal force.
When I was little, we went to the city park where I always loved to play
on the merry-go-round. You remember this
one, right? A metal disk with railings
in each of the quadrants like sections of a pie. There was a space in the center where one
lucky soul would sit, protected by the railing poles with their feet braced
against the force of the spin. The
other, less fortunate, kids (usually I was this kid) were stationed along the
outer edges of the disk, clinging to the railings for dear life. Our fear was centered on the one kid who was
to spin us into oblivion. Usually this
was an older, stronger child, and he usually had a devilish look on his face
right before he threw every ounce of effort and energy into spinning our
merry-go-round. Meanwhile, the
centrifugal force would latch onto our scrawny little bodies, threatening to
fling us into the pine shavings or pea gravel of the playground.
While it seems like
only childhood playground fun, this is how I feel pretty much all of the time
these days. Clinging for dear life to
whatever hand-hold I can grab, straining against the sucking force of
deadlines, duties, and just life in general.
I am sure that my busyness
is somewhat self-generated. If I got
serious, I could analyze how I budget my time and where I am wasting
minutes. I could determine where the
priorities lie and sort out my to-do list with the most pressing things at the
top. Maybe I will someday, but I don’t
feel like being that analytical just yet (and who has time for all that?).
I’ve caught myself
passing on social invitations because I am so busy. This past week I had two after-school
meetings and a book club get together; on Saturday alone I have morning meetings
and an hour-long obedience class with my dog, a wedding, and a birthday
scrapbooking fandango for my best friend of almost 30 years. And we don’t even
have kids! (God bless all you parents
out there…I couldn’t do what you do). I had to decline the wedding invitation
because it conflicted with the birthday celebration. I nearly skipped Thursday’s book club
altogether. I didn’t have time to read
the book, and I hate being the one slacker in the room. But I realized that I just couldn’t say no to
book club. First of all, I had passed on
last month’s book club for the same reason.
Honestly, if I let busyness be my guide, I’d never go to book club
again. So, I raced home from work,
shoveled in my dinner, and raced back out the door (after kissing my patient
husband and begging his forgiveness for the guilt I felt over “abandoning
him”).
I arrived at my
friend’s house and apologized profusely for failing to read the book, dug into
a bowl of gummy bears, and decided that I would still find a way to contribute
to our group’s discussion. And we had a
great discussion. My inability to
discuss the book specifically was frustrating (at least it was frustrating for
me), but we talked about a lot of life issues that the book brought up, which
was where I could weigh in. In an hour
and a half we laughed a lot. We shared
stories about our own lives; we talked about courage; we talked about growing
up. I met new people. We loved on my friend’s dogs. We ate yummy snacks.
I made sure to
leave before 8:30 so I could get home and at least kiss my husband goodbye
before he went to work (he has a crazy work schedule, too). On the drive home I realized that as busy and
hectic as I felt earlier that day, I was glad that I took a couple hours from
my evening to spend with friends. In
that short time I was inspired by my tablemates, encouraged by them, and I was
lighter in spirit. So I cemented that
lesson in my brain: Don’t sacrifice gathering with good people because you’re “busy.” Let’s face it: I couldn’t be at a wedding in Spokane and a
birthday celebration in Sandpoint at the same time. So yes, there are times when busyness
wins. And sometimes you just have to say
“no” for the sake of your own mental and emotional health. And sometimes (let’s be honest) the
invitation just isn’t what excites or inspires you (in which case,
decline!). But if you find yourself
constantly declining invitations because of busyness, you might be missing out
on life. You might miss making wonderful
memories or being encouraged or being inspired or learning new things.
Life is too short
to let the beast of busyness beat you down!
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