Super crazy busy. As usual.

I saw this phrase on my son Michael’s page on Facebook (which if you are not up-to-date with the internet will perhaps become the next Google of the internet world).

Super crazy busy. As usual. This phrase aptly describes me, my wife, my over-achieving children, and a host of other people I know all around the world.

The adrenaline rush of speeding through a day with cars, jets, phones, computers, business, socializing, entertainment and more is intoxicating. Like my kids, I have many screens open on my computer so I can work simultaneously on many tasks, get information from many sources, and communicate through a bunch of message and computer/phone options.

I enjoyed that high-powered lifestyle for decades as a banker and executive, but I can hardly stop running now, even though I am “Retired”.

My excuse is that I am building a house, trying to become a writer, looking after gardens and investments, and trying to stay in touch with my far flung friends. But I wonder if this busy-ness will stop? Perhaps next year when the house gets finished?

Another phenomena I have noticed is that over-stressed and over-busy people like me have developed certain mindless habits that allows our brains to slow down a bit. For me it is computer games like Solitaire, Hearts, Minesweeper and Jetman (on Facebook).

For me, these are virtually forms of (cheap) meditation like a mental rosary, or counting beads in meditation. When I play these computer games, my mind is mostly operating on automatic pilot, so that I can think and reflect on what is most important.

Sadly, these games are not an authentic substitute for real pleasures, like looking up at the stars in my country backyard, where the stars are amazingly bright and present! Nor are these electronic diversions as revitalizing as going out into lovely gardens and sitting quietly. Outside, I see beautiful trees changing into autumn colors, and the ocean at a distance has an ever-changing set of colors and moods as it meets the sky on the distant horizon.

Yesterday morning I woke up with a great idea: I would try to live the next year as if it were my last year on earth. Fortunately, I appear to be in great health. My color is good; I can swim 25 minutes at a fast pace; I feel very good. Yet I know that at age 60 I have already outlived most of my ancestors. This year, if not this month could well be my last. And if not, I could still benefit from living with this thought.

The real point of living life as if it were about to end is that I must concentrate on what is most important to me and not delay things until the future. A few years ago I watched our friend Linda Bergwall as she was dying from cancer. She and her husband Jim lived very deliberately each day. They spent lots of time with friends. They travelled. They enjoyed each day more than you might imagine. It was a (bittersweet) pleasure to watch them live this mindful way.

Being as busy as I am, I doubt that I (or you) could hold this thought in mind unless I was actually dying of cancer, or something else serious. However, for a few minutes or days, this kind of concentration on ultimate reality helps sift out what really matters in our lives.

I wonder if I truly want to be Super crazy busy – as usual?