Peace in a Busy World

Hello, friends.

A mentor of mine posted an article some months ago (this one!) about how everyone seems to respond to the question, "How are you?" with the same answer--"busy." Life is busy. Work is busy. Everything is just...busy.

You may gather from my lack of posts for a few months that my life is, yes, busy.

This particular article suggested moving towards saying, "Life is full." Busy, yes, but also full of good, happy things. The problem is that just changing the wording will not change the meaning behind the statement unless one really internalizes the idea, which is very much easier said than done.

So then how can we internalize this idea of seeing our lives as full of good? Yes, sometimes very real, very challenging things come up--a loved one dies, illness strikes, financial troubles arise. But frequently, we are "busy" with many other things--both good and bad.

The U.S. is known for having workers who, at least compared to some cultures, spend more time at work, take less vacation, and generally just put in more time/stress at work. Whether this is more productive or better for the overall wellbeing of the individuals and the society is definitely debatable. But, given that culture that we live in, and the particular, fastest-paced city I'm in at the moment (I really do <3 NYC), how can we deal with this busyness productively? When some of us wake up, go to work, have a non-stop day with a five-minute stop for lunch, stay in the office late, go home, eat whatever is around, and fall asleep...just to wake up to do it again the next day, how can we find happiness, find fulfillment--find peace?

Now, I know I'm somewhat of a typical twenty-something, dealing with the normal adjustments to working full-time (less unscheduled time), but I also think finding a work-life balance is more than just learning to avoid checking your work email every ten minutes. It's also about finding a way to shut off thinking about work and life stresses at certain points; compartmentalizing.

Many religions seek to help adherents find a way to internal "peace." This might be through yoga for some, through prayer for others, but all of these practices to some extent aiming to find a way to quiet the mind. I would even argue that finding internal peace is vital before we can achieve a general peace among the nations/religions/cultures/etc. So how can we do it?

I can speak from personal experience about some ways in which I seek peace--sometimes I head to the gym, or I'll blast music and dance around the apartment in my pajamas (just living my best life), or I'll write out my to-do list to prove to myself that there really is enough time to do everything. I recently read about a new labyrinth that opened in midtown (I love labyrinths), so I could stop by a peaceful place like that. Sometimes it just takes a good book or a few minutes on the phone with a friend to re-center, to feel more at peace. Sometimes a good Shabbat service can do it for me by giving me a few minutes to think.

I know many of you out there are very busy as well (because some of you tell me!). So what do you do when things feel overwhelming? When you have only a few free moments in a day, and have to choose what to do with that precious time? Is it prayer? Meditation? Watching mindless reality television? Please leave any suggestions in the comments--I know I'm always looking for ways to live a calmer, more focused life. Inner peace is certainly not the only solution to the world's problems, to the hate and the violence, but it certainly won't hurt if we all work together to find a little more quiet in every day.

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson