There is a very distinct difference between a busy life and a full life. Let me start by saying that a full life is not necessarily busy, and a busy life is not necessarily full.
A busy life is one where there is a lot going on. There is next to no leisure time (and leisure is important too), and there is just one obligatory task, after another, after another. Other than the fact that there is no leisure time, there is nothing inherently wrong with this kind of life. However, I have personally found that many people who have an abundance of “obligations” have many obligations that add no value to their lives. They are just satisfying these obligations because they think that they are supposed to; “Isn’t this what normal people do?”
Example: Among the many obligations that Mr. busybody has on any given week, he mows his lawn. It’s a task he despises. But, grass grows, so the owner of a property is obligated to mow it. Mr. busybody is a single gentleman with no children and has such a busy career oriented life, that he never has time to use his outdoor property for anything. No barbecues, no volleyball, no chilling out on a hammock, no gardening, nothing. If Mr. Busybody has no time to use his yard, then he has no real reason to maintain it either. i.e. It adds no value, and functions only as a drain on his life. A better use of his time would be to sell the house and live in a smaller place with no yard. Once that is done the amount of time freed up from doing unnecessary chores is immeasurable.
Admit it, we all know somebody in this situation (and some of us are that somebody).
A full life is one where we engage only in activities that give us a sense of purpose. A life filled with love and passion. Consequently, ALL the activities and obligations in such a life add value to it. This life need not be “Up at dawn, down at midnight” kind of life. This is not what I would call a “busy” life, but definitely a focused life.
So I pose these questions to all my readers out there: Are you living a busy life? Is your life full, focused?