I've decided that I actually like being busy. I didn't believe I did for a very long time. Most of my memories from about age six to age 16 involve me wanting to do one thing, and my Mom telling me that instead I had to mow the lawn, do my violin/piano practicing, mow Brother Betts' lawn, make my bed, sweep the basement stairs, dust the family room, etc.
Now it wasn't that I was assigned lawn mowing and chores, because in retrospect none of the jobs I was given were all that egregious (except the annual "clean the basement" assignments). But they were always presented like it was a sentence. I imagine a judge sitting in his black robes saying something like, "Devon, we all got off to a late start today and there is a lot of work to do. I'm sentencing you to pick up the apricots and have your bed made before I'll feed you lunch. Then you can mow the lawn this afternoon. May God have mercy on your soul," followed by the banging gavel.
So naturally I remember thinking anything that made me busy was to be dreaded and avoided at all costs. Oh how glorious were the weeks when I went to scout camp and I got a free pass from my violin practicing.
As time has gone by, there are more and more things that fill up my schedule, to the point where there isn't much unscheduled time anymore. But, what I've found is that more things are things that I have put there myself. Working out time, refereeing, newspaper assignments, scripture reading, etc. They're all my own devices. And, on rare days where I actually have some down time, I feel bad for being so unproductive.
I suppose life will always schedule a lot of things for us that we wouldn't necessarily choose if we were just given a clean 24-hour slate every day. But, my attitude is much different now than it was back in the days when I loathed the sentence to trim and haul off branches from the pyracantha bush.
It took a while, but in my early adult years I have finally discovered that work isn't necessarily a sentence. And, being busy is usually a lot better than the alternative.
1 comment:
I know exactly what you're saying, and one of my goals as a parent is to be upbeat about all that there is to do so that my kids have a healthy attitude toward work.
I think a part of it is allowing for a bit of agency in the process.
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