Of Simplicity and Busyness

Slowly almost imperceptibly busyness has crept back into our lives. With the busyness I have felt my passion for the moment slipping. My mind always wandered to the next task or tasks I hadn’t yet had time to finish. Writing deadlines loomed, weeds were making steady encroachments, plants needed attention, food needed to be prepared, the house cleaned, the dog walked, the list goes on. I was marching through my days with a goal of getting done and not enjoying the moment.

Saturday night I had a rare opportunity to reflect uninterrupted. Due to a busy day the children had not napped and were in bed early. Proeun had gone to his brother’s house to watch a game on TV and I was alone. Just that day I had received the newsletter from Empowered Living ministries. The main article was about happiness and contentment whatever your lot in life. At last year’s farm conference one of the instructors quoted Gandi saying that “Prosperity begins with contentment.” I don’t know if you noticed but busyness in addition to being a series of physical activities is also a state of mind that doesn’t mesh well with contentment. It is possible to have many things to do yet not feel busy.

Jim Hohnberger, founder of Empowered Living Ministries, shared the secret–make your goal for the day staying close to Jesus and focusing on character development rather then accomplishing a list of tasks.

Sunday there was much work to do at the farm. Proeun and I went with a list, separate lists with separate ideas of priorities. It didn’t go well until we changed the way we worked. Rather then doing separate jobs to maximize productivity we worked together closely and combined efforts on one task. We then realized we were actually multi-tasking, we were having quality time together and working, plus it was easier for us to manage the children in this way.

We decided to make dinner a special event. It took longer to prepare and was more complicated then a normal dinner but so much more enjoyable. And there are enough leftovers I don’t have to cook today. After dinner we went outside. The weather was beautiful. We put the kids in the 2nd hand Burley (bike stroller) we got for free and had a nice leisurely walk. I even got to hold my husband’s arm as we walked. When we returned the kids played in the sprinkler and we gardened. It wasn’t a task that needed to be done but an enjoyable moment. In our home garden we have many volunteer plants including about 5-6 tomatoes. We are anxious to see what variety they are and we are using techniques we learned on the farm to promote their health. After awhile we just sat and talked in the cool of the evening. Occasionally we pushed the kids on the swing or saw a weed to pull or a plant to prune but in that moment busyness melted away and contentment reigned. I am learning it doesn’t take much to be contented, it just takes a mind attentive to the moment.