I'm realizing it has been far too long since our last blog post! I guess that's what happens when the schedule fills up and blogging gets left by the way side. The blog is not the only thing that has been neglected over the past few months; our busy schedule has made it difficult to stay connected with our many friends all over the province. This situation has led me to reflect on the cycle of busyness we get trapped in from time to time.
Often times busyness is a choice. I chose my job, the tutoring I do after working hours, my involvements with the church, the assortment of seemingly important appointments, and the many many plans I make with friends that fill up the in-between moments. Once you get busy, you're required to perpetuate the cycle because all subsequent things you want to do get scheduled into the future days and weeks that you are not already busy. Whenever we want to get together with someone or plan something, it needs to be somewhat in advanced because our busy schedule hinders the ability to do those things in the spur of the moment.
My opinion on our state of busyness is mixed. On one hand, it is motivating and allows us to be productive and feel like we're getting the most out of our days. However, when we come home at the end of the night, we basically collapse into bed because we're both so worn out from work and a full evening of activities. Is this how we want to live? Stretching ourselves to the point where we have virtually no time left over and pushed to exhaustion at the end of each day? At the same time it can be very fulfilling because we have so many friends and so many things to get done, so why not schedule all these things one right after the other and completely them most productively? Especially with Josh's pending deployment we feel a huge need to stay focused on getting everything done and all our visiting in before he leaves. We have definitely enjoyed this time, especially all the visiting, but looking forward to another month booked full, it's already exhausting!
What then is the solution to busyness?
I guess similar to most solutions in a post-modern era, it's all about balance! A little while ago I had a conversation with a friend about the need for a Sabbath, a weekly break from work, which is a perfect example of how to pursue this balance. Josh and I are fairly flexible when it comes to applying the idea of Sabbath. In religious tradition there have been those who take a break from all things on the Sabbath almost to the point where it becomes more work to prepare and live out the Sabbath. I completely respect people who do this and I believe it shows a deep commitment to their faith and convictions. For me, the need isn't to take a break from physical work and activity but rather, I absolutely need a mental Sabbath especially amidst our busy weeks. When my friend first explained to me the concept of a mental Sabbath, I honestly couldn't envision how that would be possible when I seem to have a hundred things on my mind at any given point in time. Vegging in front of the tv provides somewhat of a break from mental business but it's not necessarily the most healthy or positive way to achieve this. Instead of distracting our brains with something mindless, a mental break is the practice of taking a break from the constant thoughts of planning, preparing, anticipating and reflecting on how to make everything better. It's about enjoying the moment and staying focused in that moment, which sounds simple but is something that many of us actually need to work at!
Mental Sabbaths are important in achieving mental balance in our state of busyness so it's also important to apply the practice of just taking a break! Josh and I try to do this by setting aside an afternoon or evening just for us. Yah, sometimes we end up just watching tv or movies, but it's important to have that time to just be and do whatever you want to without any agendas, schedules or timelines! We do get a lot out of these lazy days, even if it's just getting charged up to head into another five busy days in a row.
In conclusion, if you've felt that you haven't seen us or heard from us in ages, your not alone! We are battling a cycle of busyness, which seeks to consume us and yet exists purely because of our choices that sustain i! While we work on getting it together, we apologize for the periods where it seems we have completely fallen off the earth. We're still here, we'll just have to schedule an appointment with you in order to remedy that; we're now booking into June....just kidding...but seriously...
In the mean time, if you have any ideas, solutions or thoughts on this topic, feel free to share! Hopefully we'll be able to respond to you within a month or so :S
