It always provides me with time...
and perspective..
and deep thoughts...
and introspection...
And one of the chief things I am coming away with this time is the question: a week away from what?
What is my normal life...
my usual routine...
my "daily grind"...
that keeps me from these very important things when I'm living it?
Am I just too busy? Is the pace too frantic?
I've been contemplating these things this week, and I have come to discover that apparently I'm not the only one...
This post on the Rebelution Blog this week asks the same question. "What is the difference between 'doing hard things' and just 'doing to much'?" they ask. Good question.They point us to a series of Blog articles by C.J. Mahaney that begins with the following challenge:
Lazy? Not me. I’m busy. Up early, up late. My schedule is filled from beginning to end. I love what I do and I love getting stuff done. I attack a daily to-do list with the same intensity I play basketball. Me lazy? I don’t think so!
Or at least I didn’t think so. That is, until I read about the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and realized just how often my busyness was an expression of laziness, not diligence.
I forget now who first brought these points to my attention. But the realization that I could be simultaneously busy and lazy, that I could be a hectic sluggard, that my busyness was no immunity from laziness, became a life-altering and work-altering insight. What I learned is that:
- Busyness does not mean I am diligent
- Busyness does not mean I am faithful
- Busyness does not mean I am fruitful
Recognizing the sin of procrastination, and broadening the definition to include busyness, has made a significant alteration in my life. The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to-do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.
I am still chewing on these ideas, but I think a week away every once in a while - away from the busyness - to ponder the busyness - is a good thing.
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