Renoir: Dance at Bougival (1883)
Have you ever thought about this? Are you a "busy" person or are you an "efficient" person? Something to think about, right? Life is full of moments where we just run, run, run and never stop to think about what we are doing. We have become a society that can never say "no", everyone feels the pressure to have it all, do it all, but at what cost? The cost of advancing in our careers? The cost of our morals and traditions? Or most importantly at the cost of families, relatives and close friends?
Life has become the ultimate competition, but unfortunately very few people understand the prize. We work and slave to be the best at everything, to be known for everything, to attain the highest achievements and to reach the ultimate goals, but for what? Why is it absolutely necessary to be the BEST at everything? If you think back centuries ago, people were not motivated to be the best at everything, they were motivated to be the best in their specific area of expertise. We no longer have top-notch writers like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas or Mark Twain. We now have writers who just want to be known and recognized. Not necessarily known for amazing literature, but solely to make their name a "household name" and have those 15 minutes of fame. And where does that take you in the end if your writings won't surpass the test of time? What about the great artists, the Rembrandts, the Caravaggios, the Vermeers or the O'Keefes? Yes, we have a few reputable artists currently, but I bet you can't name more than five who will make it to the future art history courses. Believe me, I'm not saying we don't have any artistic or literary talent, because that is not the case. My only point is that not many people are satisfied at being the best solely in our areas of talent. We are drawn, pulled and almost dragged into becoming machines of excess.
So all this rambling does lead somewhere...it leads to my original question. Are you a "busy" person or are you an "efficient" person? Are the activities, decisions, dreams, goals and achievements in your life a result of working to become a better person, to further the love and growth of your family or career? Or are your actions solely reliant upon achieving a societal expectation that is completely unrealistic and almost detrimental to our well-being as individuals?
Here is my challenge presented before you.
Begin to Question. It's not a bad thing to stop and meditate upon our lives, our motives, our achievements and of course future goals. Have you become the person you dreamed? Stop being cynical, try for optimism instead! Do you love what you see in the mirror each morning, or are you upset with your behaviors, intentions and priorities? If you are searching in life, this is the place to start, with YOURSELF! Without changing yourself, it is impossible to change others.
Make yourself an "efficient" person. Love your passions, your dreams and your intentions and above all love life and those around you! Stop being a "busy" person. If you don't find a certain activity worth your time or attributing to your life in a solid good or healthy way, then drop it! It isn't worth your time just to fill up your schedule because everyone else does!
All this rambling leads to a final point: life shouldn't be a complete void of empty activities or goals that don't lead you to where you are going. Life is about becoming truly fabulous at what you were born to do. This may take time, days, weeks or even years to comprehend your worth but it will happen and that will be the moment when you will be grateful you didn't waste your time being a "busy" person instead of being an "efficient" person.
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