Thomas Merton, the American Trappist monk, once said “The
great sin of our time is busyness.” In
the last few weeks since Thanksgiving, I’ve been quite the sinner—traveling, working
on two book manuscripts, and gearing up for a geographic move. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness
of the moment and let things like healthy eating and meditation fall by the
wayside. It’s as though there has been an
endless loop of chanting inside my brain:
“I’m too busy to…..take my vitamins.”
“I’m too busy to…..exercise.”
“I’m too busy to…..meditate.”
“I’m too busy to…..work on my painting.”
Ironically, each of those things I’m too busy to do is essential to my ability to do all those other things that are keeping me so busy. Without self-care practices to keep me calm and energized, I know that burnout is just around the corner.
How easy it is to stop doing the things that nurture us. And how hard it can be to re-establish the practices so important to our personal resilience and vitality. So as of yesterday morning, I’m back on track with a renewed commitment to the four practices of centering, healthy eating, exercise, and creative expression. I know that I could fall off the wagon again somewhere down the road. But I hope not—at least not for a long while.
So what’s keeping you too busy? And how will you take care of yourself?
