Making time for the important things?
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep and cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at beauty’s glance
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare. W.H.Davies
Busy…busy…busy…
Is it time to cease worshipping at the altar of Busy?
Our society has a tendency to place great emphasis on being busy, occupied with whatever work we are doing and being ‘seen’ so to be doing.
‘The devil makes work for idle hands’
Being a hard worker, responsible and conscientious is encouraged in our society. Historically the Protestant or Puritan work ethic was a concept emphasizing hard work, frugality and diligence as the way to heaven as opposed to religious display and attendance at services. Many years have passed since then with society changing radically in its movement away from control by religion to a more secular way of life, however there are deep unconscious drives that still manifest into the present day.
No doubt there have always been those who do and those who allow others to do for them. The truism ‘if you want something done give it to a busy person’ holds good at all levels of society in work or out! There are also political ramifications, for example, I am old enough to remember when government policies were being designed as people would have too much leisure time when the three day week became the norm! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Day_Week
With advances in technology and changes in work patterns this is far from the truth with some people being over worked and others with no work whatsoever.
People will generally behave differently according to their personality type and what is pushing their buttons at the moment.
Some people can become driven by being busy even when there is no need to be commonly known as workaholics, yet others, pathologically laid back or lazy as some might call it.
- The passive aggressor, makes sure with little asides of how hard they work
- The back stabber so sweet and smiling till that little prick in the back, never trust them
- The kitchen slob, wash your b….y cups
- The chatterbox really do I need to know the details of your friends neighbours aunt?
- The delegator, neat and manipulative not very popular however…
- The workaholic head down hard work….dull boy if not careful!
- The noisemaker, turn down the volume, everyone in the next street does not need to hear this information.
- The meeting scheduler, looking busy for that useless meeting, let’s do some work instead?
- The gossiper , really who cares anyway!
- The overly ambitious youth so young and yet so knowledgeable…NOT
- The downer complains about everything, harbingers of dooooom
- Email sharer every email just in case of the interminable cute cat…spare me!
- TMInformation no boundaries for private and public information…
http://www.bitrebels.com/business/13-personality-types-busy-office/
Some people are driven to be constantly active if you’re of that personality it can be caused by childhood habits and feeling guilty and needy for approval. Then there are those who are by nature over conscientious, responsible for everything that happens within a 100 mile radius.
So first of all what type are you? If you are the first type then making time for important things is just for you!
So how do we make time for important things? This depends on what you mean by important. It often takes a big issue in someone’s life, an illness or near death experience to understand the value of family for example. Some people have damascene moments on their life journey for no apparent reason and others seem to have priorities around human beings naturally rather than material wealth.
If you are a person with a full life, work, family, life events etc. Then it can feel difficult to find space for what is important.
Mindfulness is a simple technique that should be practised during everyday life, whatever you are doing bringing your attention to the moment will help you quieten the mind and clear your head. Whether you are driving, in meetings, shopping, washing up…whatever you are doing you can do it mindfully.
If you want to listen to a mindfulness recording please download for AQP Media, guided visualisation
Classic books include:
Thich Nhat Hanh The miracle of Mindfulness
Jon Kabbat Zin –Wherever you go, there you are
Ram Dass – Be here now
