Vocabulary Audit

“I don’t think the word busy is here to help us. Each thing is still one thing when you do it.”

I recently heard this while listening to an interview with poet Naomi Shihab Nye, and couldn’t help but wholeheartedly agree and feel deeply exposed, at the same time.

Now, listen. I’m not trying to say that being busy – occupied with many things – is inherently bad. Your usage of busy, however, as perhaps a badge of honor and/or excuse – particularly in ways that are preventing you from being present with meaningful people, places, and things in your life – might be overdue for a broader perspective. The trick is moving to a place of observation.

Nye has always told her students, “You are living in a poem.” Interestingly, she once received a note from a student in Japan that helped capture the essence of what she was trying to instill in this saying. The student wrote, “Here in Japan, we have a concept called ‘Yutori.’ And it is spaciousness. It’s a kind of living with spaciousness. The student continued, “…and after you read a poem just knowing you can hold it, you can be in that space of the poem. And it can hold you in its space. And you don’t have to explain it. You don’t have to paraphrase it. You just hold it and it allows you to see differently.”

So, a word to ban and a word to add to your vocabulary. Goodbye, busy. Hello, Yutori.

Kind of hard to associate from an unhelpful space of busyness when you’re observing from a space of appreciation and awe. But don’t take my word for it. Try it!