Busyness

How do our lives get so busy with meaningless activities? Why do we allow it? Don't we know what true living is? And how our souls long for simplicity and meaningful relationships? It's exhausting running from one thing to the next, from one place to another rushing to accomplish tasks while ignoring our surroundings, the people and what God may be trying to show us. I'm personally tired of it and want off this carousal. But how?  Do I just endure it for a season? Unfortunately, I only have myself to blame for feeling this way.Like most women in their 40's and 50's, we have many responsibilities to juggle; home life, work, relationships, service, etc. We live in a society where busyness is the norm and if we aren't busy then we aren't being productive and it's unacceptable. How many times have you asked someone "How are you?" and their response was, "I've been so busy". But is our busyness just a form of selfishness or are we trying to remain in this constant flux of doing so we won't have to quiet ourselves and face our demons? As Thomas Merton said, "We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or have-".I have been feeling the stress of being overcommitted once again. I realize my priorities are not  in line with my beliefs. I have allowed selfishness, more specifically greed, to determine my path. I had set a goal about 6 months ago to work hard to get out of debt completely (except for mortgage and one car payment), that is why I took on extra jobs. After this past week of reduced work hours and no extra-curricular activities for the kids, I realized what I was missing. My desire to spend quality time with God and my family surfaced as I had the time to actually do it this week. Although, in my head I have my list of priorities numbered, since it is not visible on paper, I found it easy to adjust or rationalize in my head the order on any given day. But that is not how it should be.For me, my priorities are: 1) God  2)Family  3) Church/community  4) Work.  However, I had allowed work to creep more to the top lately by not saying "No" to some opportunities. With our priorities written down, we can filter all commitments and responsibilities to ensure they do not alter the order and ask "how will this effect _______".  We must be careful not to get sucked into what society expects and accepts as a norm for us. Determine your priorities beforehand. Even though I have some commitments that I need to finish up in the next several weeks, I have decided to cutback on how much I work. I will need to be creative in reducing spending so I can still reach my goal to pay off debt.Although we may not believe it, we do have control of this carousal called life. We can stop the madness and slow it down or get off for a time. We may find ourselves in the fast lane for a season, but let's not make it a habit or lose ourselves in the process. Remember, no one has ever said on their death bed, "Oh, I wish I had worked more". Set your priorities and stick with them. Let's stop the cycle of feeling like we have to keep producing and learn to just be. Times of quietness and stillness are good for our souls.