I like to be busy...the proof-read/edited version

For those of you who know me this will come to no surprise at all, but I like to be busy. I always have. I have always liked "playing" with friends, making new friends, going places, inviting people over etc...That's just how I roll. I've never felt lonely or alone or depressed or sad for any notable length of time either. And maybe that's why...I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm always busy. Maybe I would be more lonely or depressed of sad if I were not so busy all of the time. Maybe I need to be around other people to be happy...oh my gosh, I just had an "a-ha" moment. Maybe I am not happy with myself. Sooooo, maybe it's OK to NOT be so busy all of the time. Maybe that's what I need to work on, being comfortable alone.

After some, you could say, heated conversations, hurt feelings on both ends and trying to find middle ground somewhere... I've decided to try to slow things down a bit.

If I truly believe that Travis and I are meant to complete each other, if I believe that people are placed into our lives for a purpose, then I need to start taking traits from him that I don't currently possess in myself, to help me become a better person.

And I have come to my own conclusion that it's by not filling my days and my kids lives with fillers. I need to fill the day with "filling foods" ( I learned about those at Weight Watchers) I want the things we do during the day to have purpose and meaning and to evoke emotion. When I look back on my life most of what I remember of my childhood is linked with some sort of emotion.

I've needed inspiration though. I've gotten it through books, blogs, observation, prayer and meditation (my own kind of meditation, like laying on the couch with my eyes closed while my kids are sleeping) And I think I've received what I've needed to get started. I can now think of a million reasons to slow it down a bit, maybe not for myself but for my kids, namely Audrey. I am GOING to start filling our lives and days with meaningful activities.

Here is a blog post that I found, it may be of some inspiration to some of you too.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” - Mohandas K. Gandhi

78.4 years isn’t much time. And that’s coming from a college student.

Even at my age, I can feel the pressure to pack my life full of activity and maximize my time by doing all I can.

In school, we’re encouraged to join as many clubs as possible to make the most of our educational experience. At work, it’s expected that we’ll be uber productive and take on more and more responsibility. Even at home, there’s a never ending to-do list of things that need maintained, fixed or upgraded.

And we go on living as if there’s nothing wrong with this system. As if the natural progression of humankind is to become the most efficient life form on earth.

If there’s nothing wrong with this system, then why are so many people unhappy? Why are so many on medication to control anxiety, stress, and depression?

Isn’t this a more telling sign of our “progression” as a species?

All this busyness has overloaded our minds. And we walk around with this nagging sense that there’s something we forgot to do. Or we feel guilty when we actually do take time to do nothing, be lazy with some friends, or watch a worm inch its way across the sidewalk.

There’s just no rest; no sense of completion. Ever.

And its eating away at us from the inside. Making it impossible to find a reason to smile, or be joyful, or just be.

But life doesn’t have to be so crazy. The craziness ends when people embrace the alternative: slowing down.

Slowing down is radical in this day and age. An age where…

…we burn with frustration if a website doesn’t load instantly.
…we think taking a nap is a sign of laziness.
…we check our email, facebook, twitter 15 times a day.
…we eat instant oatmeal for breakfast, frozen meals for lunch, and order takeout for dinner.
…we lose sleep over an upcoming deadline.
…we even take our own lives because the pressure to perform is too much to handle.

Breaking these habits can be difficult. But why is that?

We fear that something bad will happen if things don’t get done. To calm that fear we work harder, and longer, and harder, and longer only to realize that there’s more to do.

It never ends.

If you’re tired of the grind, let me suggest you step back and take an honest assessment of what needs to be done. Letting go of the compulsion to do all things can be an awesomely liberating high. Simply choose what’s most important, and do that. Even simpler, choose to do the things you are passionate about, and drop the rest.

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Mike Donghia of The Art of Minimalism.