This
disease of being busy (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being
busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and
well-being. It saps our ability to be
fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from
forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave…
In many Muslim
cultures, when you want to ask them how they’re doing, you ask: in Arabic, Kayf haal-ik? or, in Persian, Haal-e
shomaa chetoreh? How is your haal? What is this haal that you inquire
about? It is the transient state of one’s
heart. In reality, we ask, How is your
heart doing at this very moment, at this breath? When I ask, How are you?, that is really what
I want to know.
I am not
asking how many items are on your to-do list nor asking how many items are in
your inbox. I want to know how your
heart is doing, at this very moment.
Tell me. Tell me your heart is
joyous, tell me your heart is aching, tell me your heart is sad, tell me your
heart craves a human touch. Examine your
own heart, explore your soul, and then tell me something about your heart and
your soul.
Tell me
you remember you are still a human being, not just a human doing. Tell me you’re more than just a machine,
checking off items from your to-do list.
Have that conversation, that glance, that touch. Be a healing conversation, one filled with
grace and presence.
To read Omid Safi’s complete article,
The Disease of Being Busy, click here.
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