Too Busy

Lately, I have noticed a lot of people posting on Facebook, "I am too busy to be sick."  (What does that even mean?  Isn't being sick your body's way of telling you to slow down?)  Last month, I was too busy to remember much of anything.  (Because that's healthy.)  Yet, being "too busy" has become a badge of honor we wear.  When we should be saying, "I am too busy.  I need to slow down, so my body and mind can rest, so I can reflect, so I can be," we are saying, "I am too busy for sleep, too busy for illness, too busy to spend time with my family, and too busy to take time for myself."  And we say it with pride.

It is as though our value comes from how busy we are.  If you are an attorney, you are SO busy at work.  If you are a stay at home mom, you are SO busy shuttling kids from school to soccer to dance.  We tell people how busy we are to demonstrate how important and useful we are.  And we praise each other for it, because the busier you are, the more important you must be.

I recently finished a book for my book club called Still Alice.  It is written from the point of view of a woman with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  It made me reflect on the societal value we put on being busy.  It made me reflect on my own need to be busy.  I wonder how our lives would be different if we started valuing NOT being busy.  If we praised spending the day in a hammock, instead of seeing it as a glutonous luxury.  If our children spent hours playing in the backyard with sticks, instead of being constantly entertained by one activity or another.  If our lives were about less, instead of more, more, more.  I wonder if we are really getting more out of our lives or if they are so full, we are getting less.

This is one of my themes for the year:  Doing less.  When you are trying to run a small business, trying to make a long distance relationship work, trying to give back to the community, trying to have meaningful relationships with friends and family, and trying to improve yourself as a person, it is easy for your life to get out of balance.  It is easy to be "too busy."  And it is even easier to keep doing, when you are praised for it.

I hope you all won't think less of me if I learn how to spend time sitting and doing nothing.  I hope you won't think I am lazy if I don't go to the office everyday.  I hope you won't think I don't care about the community if I don't join another board.  I hope you won't judge me if I am not so busy.  But if you do, that's okay, because I know to make my impact on the world, I need to allow enough time to see what that impact is.  When I am too busy, I can not see.

What were you too busy for today?

Image form:  http://gapingvoid.com/2006/02/23/too-busy/

Book Club/Wine Club/Bunco/Whatever You Want to Call Your Regular Get Together with Girls

I am a firm believer in the value of girlfriends. There are many moments in life that are so much easier when shared with a group of women drinking wine. (The drinking wine part is not obligatory, but there are some cute jokes about it. See photos.)

As referenced in my previous blogs, it has been a number of years since I have had a group of girlfriends to spend time with. Since moving back to Olympia, I have reconnected with and met a lot of new people, because of my business and through my incredibly social sister. And I have jumped on every opportunity to join a "book club" (and by jumped on the opportunity, I mean invited myself), "wine club," "dinner club," SCS (that one's a secret :), etc.

This week, book club and wine club were in the same week. Some might see this as overkill, but I thought it provided a nice reminder of how enjoyable different evenings can be. Some are deep and sad, others are lighthearted and fun, others can be educational, and some very special evenings combine all of these elements in one. All are valuable. And because I get my energy from connecting with other people, they leave me feeling happier than before I went.

I'm so excited about some of the women I have met, I wonder, sometimes, if I need to chill out. I am like the 4th grader with the Best Friends Forever necklace. "Oh my gosh, I so totally like you. You are so totally awesome." Hopefully, these compliments are taken for what they are, and don't tickle a Single White Female fear. (I swear I am not a stalker. Well, at least I am not going to cut my hair or anything.) I have always said part of the reason I enjoyed living in Montana is, because I like the people better. Apparently, I was overlooking some wonderful folks in Oly. Good thing 6 Par Farmer is open to spending part of the year here and part of the year in Montana. Sounds like the perfect life to me.