What are we missing?

In a NY Times online article, the author, Tim Kriedle makes some very good points about the busyness in our lives. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/?smid=fb-share

If we hopelessly run the rat race going from activity to activity, we miss out what life is about. Granted,  depending on where John Q. Public places his priorities says that I'm wrong on this but to each his own. I catch hell all the time for the activities that I didn't sign my kids up for or choose to do myself. It's not that I don't have the time, but it's not important to me to do X activity. There are many life lessons to be learned in the time that isn't filled with "stuff". While the human mind needs material to act as input, it also needs that unstructured time to come up with solutions (you know, if you stop thinking about it the answer comes to you phenomenon). 

The biggest thing about this article that caught my eye though, was the following quote, " They’re busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they’re addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence." In today's world busyness indicates success, but it reminds me of the Ouroboros symbol (the serpent eating its own tail). The self is submerged into this vast ocean of human consciousness, but no one is taught how to be individual within that consciousness. 

When it's quiet and there is nothing pressing, that means we have to self reflect. Our insecurities come creeping up from the bottom of our self-consciousness and weasle their way into our self belief. As long as our lives are crammed with STUFF, we can justify our treatment of others as a part of the norm instead of looking back & saying " you know I really bit so and so's head off today & it wasn't their fault, I think I give them a call to apologize". Or to take it a step it step further and really look at our faults and proactively work to compensate for them. 

I know this blog probably is probably clear as mud right now. I guess the biggest thing I wanted to say about this article is that what Mr. Kriedle points out is very true....now I'm going to do what I need to do so I can stare at the clouds for the rest of the day. =)