Have you ever had a hard time reading a book? Listening to music without doing anything else? Going on a walk without a destination? Although activities like these recharge us, there seems to be an ongoing problem amongst us adults of not being able to take time to do something simple or nothing at all.
Surely, work, education and life itself take a ton of work. However, if we don’t take time to do the things we really like to do in our own silence, the possibility of falling into depression, chronic lethargy, addictions, and other health problems becomes greater. The human mind needs those in-between moments, especially during these modern times where cars are honking everywhere, commercials find us in our own bedrooms, and even bus rides should be used “productively”.
After all, no matter how we would like to believe we are fully functioning ever-enduring adults, it is not simple like that. Inside all of us, there is a small child that we were before anyone or anything made us believe we shouldn’t do exactly what we want to do. Before we believed that all activities should have a result. Before we had an idea of everything having to be in order, reasonable, logical or useful entering our brain.
And we’ve realized this. We have realized that the culture of being busy isn’t set in stone. Even though many of us may still have a hard time sitting down to knit a pair of socks, because “I should be studying, working, exercising”, we have realized that we don’t want to wait until another life to be exactly who we want to be. We don’t want to wait until the weekend to have fun, or until a holiday to live well. There is pressure, and people live in different circumstances that sometimes prevent them from living like they would like to live.
That is why the time thrown at us now because of the virus seems so current. We can now see that everyone would like to spend more time with their loved ones, learning something for themselves, living simply. We can also see that being busy is indeed a man-made ordeal; to be overcome by us.
Living slower is kind not only to ourselves but to all beings and the planet.
Coming back into this moment with presence, without thinking about yesterday or tomorrow, feels lovely. Without thinking about what I have to do, what I should do, or what I could do. There is space around my actions and thoughts. Letting go of the need to control is love in its purest sense.
There is time to enjoy our workdays, school days, free days, any days. There is time to do important activities that we deem meaningful, there is time to do activities that are absolutely, utterly useless in society’s standards. Sometimes we cannot pinpoint which camp one particular activity belongs to. That is the fun in all this!
There is time to just be. Life is here, at this moment, and the more aware we can become, the better we can heal from the culture of being busy.