In Others’ Words: Barren is … as Barren Does …

Sometimes when I tell another person how oh-so-very busy I am … well, I’m hoping they don’t hear the hint of pride in my voice.

I’m a busy, busy person. That must mean I have a life worth living … a life of significance … that oh, maybe, I’m important somehow?

(And now I’m shaking my head as I think: You’re really going to admit that awful truth here? Don’t you want to use that DELETE key?!?)

But I’m not cleaning up this blog post. Nope. I value honesty — y’all know that by now. And the truth is I also know busyness does not equal significance. Not even close. The busier I get, the more I can lose track of the very things I value the most. The busier I get, the more I can lose myself.

Barrenness. 

Long before the birth of Christ (BC), Socrates was philosophising about busyness and how it can wring our souls out and leave us empty. Generations before the Internet and Facebook and Twitter and DirectTV and IMAX and telecomuting and the “sandwich generation” and parental peer pressure (although I think that’s been around since Adam and Eve) — all the things that creates busy for us … there was the black hole of barrenness left in the wake of being too busy.

The question is: When faced with the WARNING, WARNING, WARNING … how do we stop all the BUSY, BUSY, BUSY?

For me, it’s perfecting the simple word, “No” — saying it and meaning it, no matter how someone else responds. It’s knowing that a wise woman knows her limitations — and that I can’t do it all and be true to myself, my values, and still have breathing space in my life.

In Your Words: How do you stop the BUSY, BUSY, BUSY and avoid the barrenness?

With thanks to my writing friend, Laura McClellan, who shared this quote with me.

In Others’ Words: Barren is … as Barren Does #InOthersWords #Lifequotes #Socrates
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“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” #lifequotes #Socrates #busyness
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