Recently someone was showing off a quilt they made. There was several shapes, colors, and sizes of the patches. The maker complained that their family didn’t like the quilt because it was too busy. The business of the quilt gave family members uncomfortable and on edge in the presence of the quilt.
The quilt was made in a very busy pattern, shapes and colors, with less obvious places for the eye to rest. I noticed and agreed it was a busy quilt and unless you searched it did give off a distracting energy. Thankfully, my eye did easily and naturally gravitated to places in the quilt that offered respite and a place for my eyes to find rest, so I was able to see more just a busy pattern. I saw the complex pattern and could even find it interesting. Though I also wasn’t interested in looking at it for a long time.
We are complex and interesting individuals. Although we live in a social structure that encourages being busy, much like the quilt. Being too busy is distracting as it does not allow others to see us. Unless we allow others to naturally know our relaxed ways, all another sees of us is how busy we are and usually too busy to feel included in their life.
How often when we see someone does the conversation begin with asking what they’d been doing? And the accompanying response is tell all you’ve done or declaring being so busy there was not time to reach out to them or another. This, like the quilt, leaves no space to find inclusion or rest with you.
Activities are fun and make life interesting. Although, being so busy has a way of blocking others from feeling they can be a part of your world. You may want to pay attention to how you structure your life, so that you do not allow others to feel a natural respite or connection with you.
Take a tip from the busy quilt. Is your life patterns so busy many, especially important people, feel you are too busy to comfortably be included in your life. Or are you so busy you don’t have time to notice or know who wants to be seen by you? Or even more important, who wants to find rest within your presence.
Be busy, while still having areas and times of your life that bring respite and allow others you want in your life to find respite with you, as you will then also find with them.