Thoughts on the Busy Life

After moving to the U.S., life hasn’t slowed down or become as relaxed as I had hoped. It turns out to be almost as busy as it was in Shanghai—one thing after another. And everything I’m busy with is urgent and must be done, like filing taxes, car maintenance, updating addresses, and so on.

When will there be some downtime? I hoped for some peaceful and leisurely days after getting these urgent matters sorted out. Soon, I realized that hope was unrealistic. My life will probably stay busy, whether by choice or circumstance. Better not to expect a new, carefree state after checking off a list of tasks.

If being busy all the time is the reality, what attitude should I adopt?

First, find joy in routine, trivial tasks. Like treating every call with customer service as a chance to practice speaking English. Or when spending time resetting an old watering system, understand the compromises and cleverness in design under constraints.

Second, find reasons to thank God. For example, in the daily routines of caring for my son with bathing and applying moisturizer to ease his eczema, I thank God for His protection and guidance, for providing doctors, diagnoses, and medication. And I thank God that after two weeks of intervention, the eczema has eased.

Maybe living this way will be a bit more interesting and meaningful?