Spiritual Laziness

I have been too busy lately. I expected that things would slow down at work these last two weeks, but they haven't. We're all busy, I know, so I will not bore you all with the details. Let's just say that I have had long work days (one was 14 hours long), little weekend time, etc. Fitting in time for family, let alone meditation, blogging, working out or sewing, has been difficult.


So what does this have to do with laziness, you ask? In Buddhist teachings, we are taught there are different kinds of laziness. One of these types in busy-ness.


Here is a quote I found from Sogyal Rinpoche's book Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (found on the web page A View on Buddhism web page): "Naturally there are different species of laziness: Eastern and Western. The Eastern style is like the one practised in India. It consists of hanging out all day in the sun, doing nothing, avoiding any kind of work or useful activity, drinking cups of tea, listening to Hindi film music blaring on the radio, and gossiping with friends. Western laziness is quite different. It consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so there is no time at all to confront the real issues. This form of laziness lies in our failure to choose worthwhile applications for our energy."


For me, spirituality doesn't come in the mystical; spirituality is present in the smallest detail of every day life - how I interact with the cashier at the grocery store, my decision to either go watch TV or instead read a book to my child, my tone when I say good morning to my coworker.


Being too busy usually means making decisions in the details of life that do not fit with my spiritual path. If I am rushed to get somewhere, that's when I'll get angry at another drive. When I feel like I have two hours worth of work to do and one hour to do it, that's when I will show irritation when a colleague comes to me for help. When I feel tired because I've worked a 14 hour day, that's when I'll decide to not meditate and turn a movie on for my kids.


Living a life that is compassionate requires hard work and attention, but it also requires a commitment to not over-committing myself. This is especially an issue at work. I know that ultimately I am responsible for how busy I am. And I know that my busy-ness is what detracts from my spiritual path.


I am looking forward to the summer when I will still have an active life, but at the same time will have time to refocus myself on my priorities and decide where I can streamline my life next school year so that I am not over committed.