You know what I never hear anymore? Nothing. No seriously. When you ask someone what they’ve been up to, it’s always “Oh! I’ve been soooooo busy!!!” Usually they’ll go on to tell you about work, kids sports and activities, and various groups, clubs and organizations they’re involved in. All this like they’re the only ones who have no time. The sad thing is, most everyone is like this now.
In reality, we all get the same amount of time. It’s a valuable currency every human being gets when he or she is born. No one can check the balance, but there is one. And one day, it will certainly run out. But until it does, you as a human being have the luxury of deciding exactly how it gets spent. Yes, we all have to work to live. But how and where is up to you. We all have to sleep, we all have to eat. These things do take some of our time, yes. But aside from that, we get a lot of choice. What I see around me is an entire culture choosing to spend our time sprinting. Running from thing to thing with no time to just be. We all talk about needing vacations, but what about needing lives? Needing to leave your home to be able to relax is incredibly unhealthy and weird. And what about work? Do we need to work this much? For what? For new cars and homes and furniture and clothes? So we work like mad to get these things, or even just pay our bills if we’ve committed to living above our means, we exhaust ourselves, and then need to pay for vacations to relax? Are we all retarded???
Just once, I’d like to hear from someone “Yeah, I’m not too busy lately. I decided to start working 6 hour days so I could get some reading in. I’m really into Sartre right now. Yep, I love to sit in the living room of my small but comfortable apartment just reading Sartre. And because it’s so small, I can easily afford the mortgage payments and cleaning takes no time at all, so that gives me even more time! I use that to take long walks to contemplate God and the state of the world while being close to nature. I have to say, I love my life!”
Have you ever heard anyone say anything close to that??? I haven’t. And even if this person were to exist, he or she would be considered a loser. For what, you ask? For enjoying life instead of being suffocated by it. For living below his or her means. These things are shamefully referred to as laziness and lack of ambition. In North America, where we are still close to our puritan roots, enjoying life and not taking it too seriously are sins. It’s amusing to note that our European neighbours, who do take the time to enjoy life, and are scoffed at by us for being lazy, have still gotten so much done. It’s…what do you call it? Having a life so you have energy for life? Light bulb moment!
Brianna Carson's Blog 