Lately I feel like I’m always busy. I really shouldn’t
complain because my time is mostly filled with things and people I love
(alright, I’m not quite ready to drop the L bomb on my new job, but it seems
fine so far). I do find that our society seems to respect and understand “busy”
far more than it respects free time. In the last 10-ish months since I got back
to the U.S., people have frequently asked me what I’m up to with my time. I
would always feel slightly defensive when explaining that I’m “only” in school
full time. No, I didn’t have a job. I simply spent around 40 hours a week
(actually probably a lot more than that) going to classes and studying. I also
spent a lot of time with family and friends, working out, reading, and doing
whatever else struck my fancy. For some reason, I was always defensive about
this. So what’s so wrong about valuing time that is not spent doing something
“productive”?
One thing that I really learned to love about Ndjuka culture
in Suriname was their view of the word ‘lazy’. When I first arrived in
Suriname, villagers would frequently ask me if I was being lazy. I always got
defensive about this and would explain that whatever I was doing was somehow
productive. Our language and culture have a very negative connotation with the
word ‘lazy’. Finally, I realized that my villagers were not using this word in
a negative way at all, and it became my best friend. When a villager would stop
by and ask me why she hadn’t seen me yet today, my response would be, “I’m so
lazy today”. No questions asked, very respectable answer. Being lazy was a
thing to be respected and valued.
It was very common in the heat of the afternoon to simply
sit under a tree and just take in the breeze for an hour or so. Visiting with
neighbors didn’t always mean talking or doing something, sometimes it just
meant sitting in each others’ presence. I had an older couple who lived not too
far from me who I always loved visiting. They always seemed to take turns with
who would chat with me, and who would nap away our visit. When it was Baa
Lene’s (the man) turn to chat with me, he would fill me in on the village and
the world’s news. He had a radio and he listened to the news in Dutch. This is
how I learned about many of the world’s big events, like the death of Bin
Laden. When it was Saa Poli’s (the woman) turn to chat with me, she would pick
my brain about life in the U.S. and generally just joke around with me. They
were great people. Sometimes all three of us would just kind of nod off during
my visit. Wow, this has gone on a tangent.
To get back to the point, I don’t know if it’s the way that
our society is set up or if it’s simply our cultural values that dictates our
use and views of time. On the one hand, I will admit that it is very difficult
for people to get by financially without working their buts off. On the other
hand, even when we are busy with keeping our families or just ourselves afloat,
we always seem to pack in more obligations. Are we uncomfortable with just
being?
In the Tao of Pooh, there is a part of the book that talks
about the Bisy Backson. Christopher Robin leaves a note on his door that says,
“Gon out Backson Bisy Backson, CR”. A bisy backson is somehow who is always
busy busy busy, even when they are at rest they are busy. Sometimes I think
this can be me. All this criticism includes myself, who can easily fall into
this trap. I would like to channel the opposite of the Bisy Backson, Pooh. He
just is. Even when he is at work, he is far from busy.