“Beware the banality of a busy life.” –Socrates
And a pretty Autumnal picture, just because.
But a few more words from me: Right now I’m way too busy. I’ve been busy all my life. I thrive on it. Being busy fills the gaps. And the gaps are scary. Void, nothingness, weightlessness…scary! So when I fill gaps, I feel safe. For a brief, frantic moment or two.
But I’m growing tired of being busy. It’s become predictable and…banal. And tiring.
I get anxious? I get busy. I lose my confidence on a Wednesday? I get busy. Not with productive stuff, but with flitting around and committing to more stuff I don’t have time to do.
Seriously, when I get uncomfortable I find myself dreaming up schemes and ideas and I email people, signing myself up for a whole heap of tedious busy-ness. My fear is that I’m not enough without my busy-ness. That I need to fill the void. But, actually, I’m a big open vessel without the busy-ness. And it’s this vastness that is interesting. My busy life is banal.
Now that I can observe myself defaulting to busy when I’m uncomfortable, my busy-ness seems dumb. Every time I say yes to a low-rent experience I cringe. WHY SARAH? WHY? I watch myself doing it, but can’t stop myself. At least not yet.
I’m now at that point where it’s no longer tolerable. When you get to this hyper-aware point, you’re 70% of the way to shifting. Which means change is moments away for me!
An update from reader Paul…it’s perfect:
This Stephen Covey quote is my favourite: “Between stimulus and response is our greatest power – the freedom to choose”
It originally derived from Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, Psychiatrist and author of the book Man’s Search For Meaning: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
What do you do to fill your void? Is it boring you, too?
