Today one of the adult Sunday School classes at my church began using Rob Bell's NOOMA videos. Each week we'll watch one of the ten minute videos and then discuss the video, and whatever semi related topics our conversation spins off into (this class is good at randomly changing topics during our discussions).
Today's video was about being so busy with "good" things that we don't have time for the best things. It compared the busyness of our lives to a little kid picking up broken piece of shell until his hands were so full he didn't have any room to hold the perfect starfish that floated within his reach. Instead of focusing on one or two things that really matter to us, we clutter our lives so full of busyness that we forget where we're going. We forget what's important, and we lose focus on what really matters. To quote the video we don't realize that "the enemy of the best is sometimes the good." Doing lots of "good" doesn't make up for never doing what's best for you.
As I watched the video, I could instantly relate to the feeling of being swamped in busyness, yet not saying "no" to anything. At church I'm on two committees, sing in choir, coordinate Sunday School teachers, help teach the children's and teens' classes, and have recently been voluntold to do a children's message in the next few months. I also have leadership positions in two different scout troops, work at a preschool/daycare full time, and volunteer here on ProU. Despite all that I do, I'm frequently worried that is not enough. I feel guilty about not doing more as a moderator. I wonder if I should be planning more activities for the youth at church, or if the weekly kids program would still have to be cut back if I could only find time to help lead it? Maybe if I just worked a little harder the scout group I'm in could recruit more people, or would I get that promotion if I did just a little more for my preschoolers?
Watching the video, I thought "yeah, all that busyness, and yet I'm still trying to do just one more thing." Recently I've been trying to figure out if I can go to college and how to make that work in among all the other things I "have to" do. No matter how I calculate it I know it will take me a LONG time to get through college even if I drop some other things to do it, and I'm pretty sure I won't make it to a degree if I don't give something up in the mean time. So I've been thinking about the busyness of life even before it came up in class. At one point in class I thought "maybe this is one more thing I don't need to add to the busyness," but as we watched the video and talked, the thing that stood out was not just the need to say "no" sometimes, but the need to say "no" to the "good" things, so that you have the energy to say "yes" to the "best" things. It talked about the need to recognize what one thing is most important to you and always keep that as your focus. I don't know if college is the most important thing for me right now, but I do know it's more important then some of the other "broken shells" I'm carrying in my busyness, and in this busyness I'm trying to say "no" so I can say "yes" to more important things.
I think a lot of the issue is that people don't know exactly what they want. I mean, I like to read, write, and help people, as well as interact with people and have fun with my family. So, I make goals for each... I'll read 50 books this year, or 1001 specific books before I die, and I'll write 10,000 words this month, and edit 50 pages of writing. I'll finish all my schoolwork on this day, so that I can go to work in order to pay for me to get certification to get a better job. Which, in turn, will be used as experience to help me get an even better job. Plus, I want to travel, but don't have the means or time to do so right now.
It is a lot in the long run, but I'd feel a little empty without a little of everything in my life. Even with the prospect of medical school, and only having time to do the MOST important thing in my life, I still want to be able to help out on the site, or do a little reading for something not required for class, or write down some of the crazy ideas in my head. I wanna do it all, because I enjoy doing it all. Life is short, so why not cram as much into it as you can?
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
I can definitely relate as a full time student, worker and church goer. It's hard for me to say no but when I don't everything I do starts to suffer. I get so tired sometimes that I abandon everything. In recent times, I've realized that its better to do one thing well than three things half-done. My dilemma now comes in dropping the glass. I'm already so involved in all that I do that its hard to just walk away.
Thanks for posting this. Like I said I can relate and it certainly is a piece that gets you thinking.
~ElegantFree~
I realized I have the same problem not too long ago. Everything in my life is there for a reason, so when I begin to realize that I have too much going on... I'm never quite sure what should go. It's all important. But, is it all for the best? I've cut back on several activities over the course of the year. I still feel guilty about it, but I tell myself that, in the long run, it's better to do well the things I know I can't live without than to half do the things that others could do better.
Saying no, especially when it's something you care about, is never easy. But, sometimes saying no is best for that thing or person as well as for you. If you don't step back and see what happens with that no... who knows what you (and they) may have missed?
-----
Like writing? So do we!
~Fallon~
"If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it - I might be writing in my dreams."- Pace
-----