Life is busy

Now that the busiest time of my life has passed, I have the luxury of reflecting a little on just how busy it was. It was busy. 

It was, of course, mostly self-inflicted, but in a few different ways. Some of it was circumstance and there was nothing I could do about it: choices I made that then had to be followed through. But the rest was harder to characterize. Was it circumstance? Was it due to my own choices? Was it pressure from external forces: social or professional? 

What is clear to me is how easy it is to be unduly influenced by the milieu we find ourselves in. In my world, it is obvious - sometimes - that certain choices are made, that one throws oneself into certain activities or roles. It is almost excepted that this be done. Partly it seems to be a low-level anxiety that if I don't do such and such a thing, then it will adversely effect my professional life: by reducing the chances of professional advancement or increasing my income. Certainly there is some truth to this. Isolation will not help if my aim is to increase my stature/business. 

But at what point are these choices redundant or actually counterproductive? If we become so buy that the work we need to do in order to maintain the kind of life we already have is adversely affected then what's the point? If the quality of your life is sacrificed in the name of progress, then perhaps a different choice is in order. This is not to say that certain choices don't need to be made in order that we feed ourselves, but as with everything, it is a question of degree. 

I suppose the question underlying much of this is: what kind of life do I want to be living? If you like being very busy and very active, then that is the direction to go. But if you like moments of contemplation or stillness, then choices need to be made in order for that to happen. 

Like many of us, I'm finding that this dilemma is on my mind, but I haven't quite found the solution. This dilemma is one we should all struggle with.