WHY BE CONCERNED ABOUT A HURRIED LIFESTYLE?
Have you ever felt at the point of burnout? I have, a couple of times, and knew that I was in trouble if I didn’t make some changes. I don’t ever want to go there again.
Why should YOU be concerned? Our society today has definitely increased in speed. We have meals which almost cook themselves, fast food restaurants, express lanes in the grocery store, quick craft patterns for that quick gift and computers and devices which are valued for their speed. No longer do we take the time to send a handwritten note or even have a friendly chat on the phone, we text or email our thoughts, sometimes not even in full sentences.
Researchers, as stated in “The Hurrier I Go” by Bonnie Wheeler, have found that we work MORE hours per week than our grandparents did. Think about it. Our homes have become larger as we’ve added family rooms, more bedrooms, huge closets, more garage space and an office. We have more area to care for , more yard to mow and, correspondingly, more possessions fill the space to dust, polish, wash and keep in order. Not only do we work more inside the home, but often we work outside the home, too. Then we bring work home.
Due to this increased workload (real or perceived), our stress levels go higher and higher until that stress begins to manifest itself in one’s body with health issues, infections, heart issues, high blood sugar, a compromised immune system and burnout — we are affected head to toe, inwardly and outwardly.
Adding a new baby to a household increases the workload by at least 40% according to Elise Arndt in “A Mother’s Time”. That would include a father’s time, too, as he is up in the night, cares for siblings and households all while working a job.
Lately we have been led to believe that we can be pregnant, see a new baby into the world and return to work without skipping a beat. Are ‘they’ CRAZY? It takes tremendous energy for a woman’s body to nourish new life within, for a husband to watch over a pregnant wife, to go through labor and delivery together and to learn how to parent and raise a child. Even if a man or woman is married and has a spouse, the work load is tremendous. For single parents it can be back breaking.
The job of parenting is intense for at least 18 years. My thoughts are that if a baby increases the work load by 40%, a toddler must increase it by 80% and a teenager by 160%. Why does it take more work to successfully raise a teenager? Think about it. A toddler, pre-schooler and baby are often at home with you and under your watchful eye. When a child becomes a teen and older, they are gone from home many hours a day, have their own friends, are on social media, texting, wanting to attend parties, learning to drive, getting that first job. A parent’s job is NEVER done even when that child matures and moves out on their own. They still need a loving heart and listening ear.
We are all hurried at one time or another. We fix a quick dinner so we can run out the door to an evening meeting. We rush ourselves and our children out the door to soccer practice, ballet, trumpet lessons and hockey games. Our project at work was due yesterday. We find that a once in a while hurried day becomes a part of our character and we become what we never intended to be — characterized by HURRY
According to the author of the book, “We Are Driven — The Compulsive Behavior America Applauds” by Minirth and Meier, busyness can become a chronic problem…it does not go away unless we deal with the deeper causes. It is also progressive and, over time, the busyness will pick up speed and momentum. It will only get WORSE. That’s scary! WHAT CAN WE DO? What can YOU do to slow down and enjoy your life more fully?
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with … the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.” Luke 21:34
