Busy, Busy, Busy....

"How are you?"... "Busy!"... "What about you?"..."Busy, VERY busy."..."Good for you! See you, I have to go because I have so much to do!"

Does this sound familiar? It seems that more than ever the people in my life, whether work or friends, are so busy that we are missing out on some valuable pieces in our life. It seems that people are missing the slowness of eating a meal and savouring it, chatting with someone without feeling rushed, reflecting on learnings, or celebrating accomplishments. Too often we create an identity by being busy, but often resent the results.

But what does busy mean? In my paperback version of the Oxford dictionary it states 1) "having a great deal to do"; 2) "currently occupied with an activity", and 3) "excessively detailed". Further investigation in the root meaning of the word busy shows it as "busy body in terms of prying, meddlesome." An interesting fact is that the phrase "busy work" was first recorded in 1910. So, when machines began to be introduced more and more into our lives, we began to be "busy".

Occasionally I have taken time management courses and these have been superb. I have learned different ways to make my work flow manageable, my household and workspace more efficient, and ways to work harder with little time. Then, I took a leadership course where we were taught to turn away from looking at time management in terms of a clock. Rather, we were encouraged to look at time management as management of our self. It is true... the clock will continue to tick and we cannot control time. But, we can take steps to manage our own behaviour, how we respond to our workload, how to set priorities, to be flexible, and take responsibility for our actions. We often set ourselves up to seek balance, but fail. How can we seek balance when the universe is always changing?

Rural communities often have places where people can stop and chat with one another without being rushed. Coffee chats at the local diner or at a neighbour's home before a days' work springs to mind. But, the influx of urban dwellers moving into rural communities is influencing the rural atmosphere because of different expectations. I wonder how the trend of "busy" will affect rural communities in the future? I know that I will treasure my days of being in a rural community when making connections with others, as well as nature, was valued by most.