As we delve into the topic of living a life full of simplicity, it’s time to address your to-do list. Those activities that keep you busy, busy, busy.
Brene Brown talks about wearing our busyness as a badge of honor. In her book, Daring Greatly, Brown suggests that our culture has become one which equates being busy with being important. “One of the most universal numbing strategies is what I call crazy-busy… We are a culture of people who’ve bought into the idea that if we stay busy enough, the truth of our lives won’t catch up with us.”
This fear-based strategy causes us to hide behind our active to-do list and not look too deeply into the inner recesses of our hearts.
We are afraid of what we might see deep down there in our space of inner knowingness.
We are afraid that we are not good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not whatever-you-want enough.
Are you too busy hiding behind the mask of activities to discover who-you-really-are and why you are here on this earth?
Is the focus of our lives to rush from one activity to another? To take our kids from one after school activity to another, every single day?
What happened to quiet time? Time to think, time to chill, time to quiet the mind and listen to our heart’s desires?
Try it. Try simplifying your life so that you have time. Time to breathe, time to notice the flowers in the garden, time to sit with an ailing parent, time to be present in your life.
Brené invites us to ask the following questions. “Are my choices comforting and nourishing my spirit, or are they temporary reprieves from vulnerability and difficult emotions, ultimately diminishing my spirit? Are my choices leading my Wholeheartedness, or do they leave me feeling empty and searching?”
My request to you this summer day: Sit on the porch with a glass of lemonade and just look around. Think of your to-do list; not with the idea of what you will accomplish tomorrow – no. Look at it as you ask yourself this question, ‘Is this activity nourishing my soul?
In future posts we will look at the art of saying no (yes, it is an art!) and a simple way to make changes stick. But for now – become aware of whether you are living a Wholehearted life and, if not, what changes you might like to make.
Please Share! If you are enjoying our summertime series on simplicity then consider sharing this post on your social media sites. It’s time to spread the word that crazy busy is not the only way to be! Love and Blessings – from me to you.
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