I subscribe to a daily reflection from the website 'Blessed Is She'. Many of them sit unopened in my inbox, waiting to be read. Though they're always thought-provoking and insightful, I find myself deleting them at times without diving in. So why don’t I just take 3 minutes every day to sit down and read them? What task is so important that I skip that particular email?
Almost as if on cue, the topic of a reflection I finally opened struck a chord with me: busyness.
When you run into a friend at a store, the interaction is usually “Hi, how are you?” “I’m good, so busy, you know?” “Yep, sure do…”
I actually hate the word busy. I think it’s a cop out.
We all have the same 24 hours each day and we choose what we want to do with it. Yes, my kids are in activities, activities that exhaust me, activities I signed them up for! Some days are scheduled down to the minute. Some days I’m free from obligations and then I feel guilty that I have free time to just sit and be - I spend the whole time telling myself I should be doing something productive. Then the pendulum swings back and I realize I deserve that peace.
To be honest, we all need that free time to just be - to sit and let our minds wander; to pray; to not worry about what the next thing on the to-do list is. Our self-worth is not contingent on how busy we are. Next time you run into a friend while you are out, refrain from using the word busy and think of another way to describe what is going on in your life.
The next time you have free time, don’t worry about trying to get all the things done. Take that time to just be. I promise you won’t regret it.