I recently found an image that captures (at least for me) the difference between the feeling of a cluttered schedule, and the feeling of a purposeful one.
It comes from the late Henri Nouwen, a priest, professor, and wonderful writer. Nouwen's work spoke (among many other things) of the wounded healer, the person who can lead and nurture others precisely because he or she is human and flawed.
About time and our use of it, he wrote "being busy is like being on the outside of the wheel—you go up and down and around all the time. If you are centered, you are in the hub of the wheel. It takes much less energy.”
Like so many Americans, I find myself on the outside of the wheel quite a bit. Lots of movement; sometimes, but definitely not always, lots of impact; and lots of tiredness in the aftermath.
Once every day or even just once a week, stop to ask yourself if you’ve just bit whirling frantically at the rim of the wheel, or quiet—yet still moving forward at exactly the same speed—at the hub.
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