Unbusy

When was the last time you spent some time being 'unbusy?' When was the last time you had a moment to be, and you left your phone in your bag/pocket and just … didn’t do something specific?

We often use the excuse of not having enough time, rushing around, rather than taking the time to slow down and developing an understanding of our own inner insights. Do you let yourself be bored? Do you spend time just being and experiencing what life flows around you? Do you make the effort to see past the obvious: is it just a tree, or is it the scores of green leaves, masses of branches, and all of the life that lives in and around it? Do you see the insects, spiders and birds thriving in it? There is a lot of wonder in the appreciation of all of it, of what is around you. Noticing the finer details is as important as getting all of your to-do tasks accomplished. There’s a lot of joy, too, in seeing the little things.

Being unbusy is not just sitting around, doing nothing.  It’s allowing time to savor, to just be and feel and let things rest.  It’s not reacting. It’s letting things flow by, and being ok with not participating. It’s letting things fall off the schedule, and not missing them. It’s just being, not doing: not playing video games, not waiting for the next thing to start, not picking up the phone. Just being.

Kids are good at being, just being.  As kids grow, we rush them out of the ability to connect with their inner voice and to appreciate just being. We over-schedule them to the point of no longer leaving time to just be ‘unbusy’.  This unbusiness is a valuable time, where we can really check in and relish what is and is not present.

Spend some time being unbusy.  Deliberately do not schedule that time, and when it comes up, fight the urge to pick up a task or to-do because you have an open time window.  The time window isn’t open or free; it is filled with being unbusy which is, honestly, just as important sometimes as getting tasks accomplished.