"Busyness" and Green Values
This semester, I have been reflecting on how I spend my
time, and how I make those decisions. So, when my friend posted this article, “The
‘Busy’ Trap” http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/?smid=fb-share
on facebook, I was eager to read it. However, she did not just post this
article publicly, but to a smaller group of our friends who are working on
writing a book as a senior thesis project, the topic of which will focus on the
experience of students in the Honors College, and the title is "How to be
Overcommitted and Underprepared." Clearly, this perspective will provide a
glimpse into the "busyness" of student life. However, this
"busyness" is challenged in this article, and I feel that green
values also challenge this notion of "busyness." Here are my initial
reactions to this article:
This author is very insightful,
and I seek to be as reflective of my own life as he is, and then to act on what
I find. I am very much inclined to agree with this author, but first I need to
reevaluate and reflect on my own "busyness" so as not to be a
hypocrite!
I wonder to what degree that this facade/sense of busyness is
an American (or certain sub-group of American culture) phenomenon? I'm thinking
of Spanish siestas, long Italian mealtimes, French kids going home for lunch...I’m
sure there are many more examples of other cultural practices that encourage
time spent with loved ones and away from work and “busyness.”
I feel that evaluating this
dimension of student life, the perception of "busyness", could be an
invaluable asset to this senior thesis book, or at the very least, a wonderful
way for college students, and really all readers, to pause and reflect.
I love the vitamin D reference- we
just discussed that in my nutrition class! Also, I love "idle dreaming!"
The concept of a standard wage
seems awfully similar to a practice proposed within the framework of green
values: the value that everyone deserves work and a living wage.
The entire idea of forgetting our cultural
perception of “busyness” seems essential to living a life of green values,
especially the following values in particular:
“Humans are naturally cooperative:” No need
for that treadmill of work and competition…
“Spiritual quality of life and loving
relationships are more important than material possessions. We reject the
latter, and live simply:” The author makes the point that time is more valuable
to him than money is. I agree with this concept, and I feel that I should work
towards more actively living this.
“You solve by synthesis; you must take a holistic
view:” This seems easier to do when the mind has a chance to be idle, as
described in the article (references to great achievements, such as Newton’s contributions
to science).
