I have been asked this question at various times in my life. "What do you do all day long? Don't you get bored?" The first time it was after I arrived in the United States. Sans drivers license, sans a job. Good friends often asked me this question. They thought they were being sympathetic, maybe? In their minds, it must have been such a drag. Staying home all day long, watching TV, surfing the Internet, learning to cook, cleaning the house... and so on. These days I get asked this question since I work two days a week. Again the sympathetic look, the regretful tone.

I wonder how they'd react if I really told them about how I ENJOYED those days and how much I ENJOY these days.

It has become a notion (is it our generation?) to equate being busy with being productive and useful. Unless you are the kind who rushes in after a long day of work, tackles a kid (or two), dirty dishes, laundry and a hungry husband, works again late into the night, and has this perpetual "I am so busy" attitude, you are not regarded as being an efficient person. Or productive. Or making the best use of your abilities and time. Being busy and doing multiple projects is looked at as some kind of a badge of honor.

I wonder where this idea came from.

What's the lure of being perpetually busy and rushed? What's wrong with having a leisurely outlook to life and work? I, for one, regard these days of leisure and writing as far more productive than the 12-hour days I clocked in working in the IT industry. I didn't feel useful or productive or particularly accomplished then. (If you do, then all power to you. I am only stating my experience here.) These days, my idea of being productive is writing up a good post (or two), reading something interesting, cooking a new dish, taking pictures, being open to exploration and learning. I am not juggling a million commitments or handling a major cross-continental crisis at work - so what? I feel fulfilled, happy, contented.

My darling Mom worked as a school teacher for a large part of her life. She is retired now. I never saw her as rushed or overworked earlier, nor does she appear so now. Even when she was working full-time, raising the two of us (with much help from a doting husband and Dad, of course) and running the home, she found time to connect to people, enjoy her cup of tea with the newspapers, watch TV, read books, go to the movies, cook delicious food. Not once did she appear terribly busy, never did she seem like she was bored. Now that she's retired, she gets asked a lot "Aren't you bored?" Whenever she and Dad visit me (or my sister), she gets asked "Aren't you bored?"

Her answer is always "No, I never get bored." She simply finds her own rhythm, regardless of place and circumstance. She enjoys her work, so also her leisure.

A perfect recipe for a happy, fulfilled and productive existence.