Too Busy?

Are we too busy to enjoy or attain true quality of life?

It seems to me that most people (myself included) live such busy, hectic, scheduled lives that we forego true quality in life. We’re busy with the job, the kids activities, volunteer work, meetings, paperwork, scheduling, shopping, bills, email, appointments, cleaning, chores, errands, clipping coupons, commitments, obligations, phone calls, internet searches...the list goes on and on. We don’t have time in a day for the things that really matter. For most of us, this is repeated day after day to the point that we don’t take time for the important things in life for days, weeks, sometimes even months.

To fix this emptiness, we experience and chase after short-lived feelings of euphoria. It’s great to get new clothes, new shoes, a new book or magazine. We feel ecstatic about our new cars. We love our latest electronics and gadgets, and we keep looking for more and more features with each emerging technology.

Even our entertainment has upsized to keep up with our growing and insatiable appetites for more. Remember the days of the local county fair and their quickly constructed rides? Today we look for super roller coasters in permanent parks with loops and twirls, enough to give us that needed thrill.

Everything is bigger, better, faster. But are we truly better-off?

I think back to some of my fondest memories...spontaneously sitting and talking with Aunt Janet and Uncle Billy after the annual Christmas party one year, looking into my newborn baby daughter’s face for the very first time, and running outside sock-footed on a freshly fallen snow.

None of these memories required a new purchase. None of them required a gadget or the latest technology. None of these were planned activities. None of them even required money. It’s not purchases, gadgets, technology, a full schedule, nor money that make up life’s most precious memories. Rather, it is time. Time to spend with one another, time to spend in love, and time to spend admiring the beauty God blessed us with here on Earth.

Time is limited as we all know, but true happiness doesn’t result from filling your time, but rather in allowing yourself free time to live life.