Alternative To Hustle Culture

Let me share an insight that came to me this morning. The word business at the root is the act of being busy. That’s all it is. We put fancy thoughts around it to make it sound better, but that doesn’t cover the fact that we are just too busy. Ever stop and think about how you feel at the end of a busy day at work when all the notifications are going off and now you’re rushing to get home.  You’re surrounded by other rushing people on the road who are also trying to get home.  You finally get home and rush around in the few hours before bedtime and then fall into bed and feel drained to the bottom?  In our modern era of hustle culture, it’s no wonder our anxiety is through the roof.  I don’t want that life. I want the slow and peaceful life of simpler times.  My glasses aren’t rose colored by any means.  I know our grandparents and great grandparents had it pretty rough too.  They were dealing with world wars, famine, economic collapse, greedy wall street tycoons, robber barons and a whole host of threats around the world and at home.  Their problems are no different than our modern problems.  The only thing different is our access to information and technology that is pushing working people out of the picture.  I’m not doomsday selling here and Einstein said it best, “It has become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity. I hope that someday, our humanity might yet surpass our technology.”

So what does that leave a modern human to do in order to survive?  I don’t know what will work for you, but I can tell you what I’m doing and that it changes every day.  I’m trying to get back to my ancestral roots by living close to the land and seasons and trying to stay away from frankenfoods and the additives that are tricking our bodies and making us sick.  I don’t prescribe to any ideology of any talking head, but I do try to listen to my inner knowing, my intuition.  I can tell when my body feels better and my mind is at peace.  I can feel my heart beating slower and the blood running through my veins feels alive and circulating those nutrients and oxygen around.  I also know when I don't feel good and just blah.  Get outside, feel the wind on your skin and the sun on your face. Listen to the sounds of nature and remember that all is okay at this very moment. You are okay, things will work out as they are intended to. You cannot control one single person, other than yourself. Mind your own business and you’ll stay plenty business. Thanks Mema! And give yourself permission to do less; go slower.  The rat race is an illusion and there are no prizes at the end for anyone who finishes first.  So, please, don’t get caught up in the hustle and influencer culture.  You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, just yourself.  Be yourself.  Love yourself.  I’ll leave you with a poem I wrote and I hope you are able to slow down a bit and enjoy these trips around the sun.  

Growing Older

By: Tonya Smith

They quietly got older with the passing of time

It’s slow march was concealed with tasks and lists

With each checkmark, a second was gone

There was no way to get it back, forever lost

They woke up one day with an old body and a young mind

The lines on their face and hands told many stories

If you would ask them, they would tell you those stories

But you have to listen closely, for they do not give their secrets easily

That’s the beauty of the human condition of storytelling

You have to listen to the words and also hear their meaning

For it’s that wisdom which will echo in your mind when you too find age has come

My one wish for you is that you and I remember that time is the only thing we have.

We don’t know how much, but let’s start right now.

This second, and this second, oh and this second.

What should we do with it?  

I’ll go first, How are you doing today?