I have been distracted lately with taking on more work, more social activities, agreeing to more volunteer tasks, plus a new puppy! Being constantly busy can be fun for a while and wonderfully distracting, and eventually exhausting, leading to lack of clarity, mistakes, and misunderstandings, (e.g... driving 45 minutes to visit the wrong client! Doh!)
So, this week one of my personal practices is cultivating spaciousness.
Cultivating spaciousness means creating, or better yet, allowing room to slow down and listen, both internally and around me. This let's me take stock, be present and not only fully enjoy the moment, but also clearly understand complex situations and make wise decisions.
Slowing down can be a subversive act, and is one way to push back against the culture of urgency that surrounds us. It is greater than simply self-care, it can be a personal & political statement. In a finite world with dwindling resources, more is rarely better, and faster has it's costs.
Becoming (and maintaining) un-busy-ness is a discipline that, like most things, gets easier with practice. Finding the moments of spaciousness between things can be challenging, but is often as simple as the 10 minutes I find to just sit and breathe and listen to the sounds around me when my client texts that she'll be late.
In these final weeks of summer, how are you managing your busy-ness? Maybe this will inspire you to allow for more internal space so that your outer world flows a bit easier.