Busyness — it's getting crazy out there
I was sort of stunned by the reaction to my newsletter last week about Oprah. Whether you love her or hate her, she certainly evokes a reaction.
I don’t know why she is so strongly in my consciousness lately, but right after that I read another article she wrote and then I heard the craziest thing on NPR.
All of this has to do with busyness.
So the first part is what Oprah wrote in the last issue of O Magazine:
“For 25 years, I lived at 180 East Pearson in Chicago. Every morning at 6 o’clock, I was picked up in the basement garage of my towering building and driven to the basement of Harpo Studios, a 14-minute trip along darkened streets and the electrical hum of Michigan Ave. I’d work past 8 pm – many nights till 10. Only on weekends and in summer did I experience daylight”.
Then she goes on to say that getting outdoors (now that she has retired from her show) has restored her energy and centered her into wholeness.
The next thing was an incredible report on NPR. According to this study, the new status symbol in the United States is busyness. While it used to be that wealthy people who didn’t work were considered the high status people (“the idle rich”), now the busier you are, the more important you are considered to be, with higher status (as long as it’s work you actually want to be doing, not work you are being forced to do, just to make ends meet).
This is the result of research done by Neeru Paharia, a professor at Georgetown University. Her research has shown that the status symbol of leisure has been turned on its head, at least in the United States. In this day and age, we now attribute higher status, higher social standing to individuals who are always busy, always working hard, always spending many hours at work (again of their own volition, they want to be there).
How crazy is this?
It seems that everywhere we look, our culture is trying to make everyone crazier and crazier, more and more stressed, and more and more tense.
And then I think of Oprah going from one high rise building at 6 am and staying at another high rise building until 10 pm virtually every single night. I remember watching one of her shows when she was talking about and showing video of her working out at the specially designed gym she had at the Harpo studio. Never running, never walking outside, mainly working out on a treadmill under fluorescent lights.
Oprah has seen the difference it makes now that she’s not working the crazy hours and now that she’s spending time in nature as often as she can. In my newsletter last week, I talked about how she has finally discovered in just the past 2 years that she is whole, that she is “enough”. And now she shares that one of the ways she stays centered and whole is by spending as much time as possible in the outdoors.
After being a type A personality for most of my life and now having worked with clients at Sedona Soul Adventures for the past 15 years, my own unscientific research has shown me:
- Everybody is way too busy
- It’s making everybody miserable
- It’s actually counter-productive
- Everything we’ve been taught about working hard is just wrong
- Just like Oprah finally discovered, I figured out that once I started slowing down, spending more time in nature, spending more time feeling balanced and centered, that’s when everything I wanted came to me — living my life purpose, being happy, being abundant.
It helps a lot to be in Sedona. Look at those red rocks in the picture. Just looking at the red rocks makes me feel so good. And hiking the trails with my dog is a sure fire way to feel centered and balanced. Feeling the energy here just feels blissful.
But it goes deeper than that. It’s about making a decision about how you’re going to live your life. Are you going to live it being crazy busy or are you going to live it feeling centered and grounded and happy and fulfilled? It truly is a choice that we are making in every moment.
I want to urge you to make a decision to live the life that is centered and grounded. I know that’s easier said than done, but as a recovering Type A personality, I know it’s possible. And I can guarantee you, it’s much more satisfying.
The question is, how do you make that shift? When I came to Sedona for the first time in 1999, I had just started my 20th year of law practice as a divorce attorney and I had 175 active cases. Talk about busy and crazy! It was that time in Sedona that started the process of me changing my life. Leaving my law practice and ultimately founding Sedona Soul Adventures in 2002.
But I had to learn how to be different. It wasn’t something I inherently knew how to do. Working with the practitioners in Sedona changed everything for me.
Could it change everything for you? I know it can. Come to Sedona and find the peace you’re looking for. We’ll help you come into that centered and grounded space and give you the tools to keep on doing that every day after you go home.
How long are you going to wait to have the peace and connection you’re craving? My recommendation is to not wait a minute longer.
Speak with one of our Angel Guides (they are the ones who will custom design your retreat). They’ll custom design a retreat of private one-on-one (or two-on-one if it’s a couples retreat) sessions with the master practitioners of Sedona (we have over 50!) which will take you from where you are to where you want to be. Click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. Or if you’d prefer, call us toll free at 1-877-204-3664 (US and Canada). For our friends outside the US and Canada call 01 928-204-5988 or click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. And remember, we’re even here for you on Sunday!
Wishing you a week filled with feeling calm and centered,
Debra
Debra Stangl / Founder
Sedona Soul Adventures – Transforming Lives One Soul At A Time
(877) 204-3664
https://sedonasouladventures.com
Melissa says her “life changing” Soul Adventure gave her peace, connection and clarity
“I would recommend Soul Adventures to anyone who is looking for peace and connection. It is truly a life-changing experience that is so personal and so profound that I would urge anyone who is seeking personal growth to do this. I came away with so many gifts and insights that my life experience has truly been enriched and my perspective now comes from a place of peace and clarity.”
Melissa L., Ft. Pierce, Florida
We still have one space left for the Peru trip – June 17-30
I’m getting so excited about our Peru trip! It’s just a little over month away and it’s going to be so incredible. I’ve talked to so many people lately who have told me that Machu Picchu is on their bucket list. Is it on yours? If so, grab the last space that we have left. You’ll be glad you did!
Experiencing these amazing places, spending 2 weeks with our incredible shaman, Jorge Luis Delgado, traveling with other like-minded adventurers — it’s life changing.
Join me on this amazing journey.
For all the information on all the amazing things we do each day – Click here
For all the information on pricing – Click here
“If you’re looking for deep and meaningful travel that connects you to other amazing people, takes you way behind the scenes and most important, creates the space for a deep dive into yourself, Debra and Sedona Soul Adventures has it down. Had I attempted to navigate my recent trip to Peru on my own, I’m confident I would have only experienced about 30% of the true magic Peru has to offer. Because the trip was so well organized and our guides were so knowledgeable, we experienced things every day that other travelers, lost on their own or stuffed in a tour bus, never got to see or feel. It was the trip of a lifetime and I am grateful and truly transformed.”
Lisa Sasevich
CEO, The Invisible Close
Send me an email if you have questions:
[email protected]
Or call me directly on my cell phone – 928/301-2896
Give yourself this gift – you’re worth it!
