Diastolic - from my friend Ed Chinn

“So, how have you been?”

It’s a question I often ask friends and acquaintances when I’ve not talked to them for a while. And, increasingly, the inevitable answer is some variation of: “Real busy.” Last night, at a social gathering, I asked the question 3 times. Honest to God, I got that answer 3 times.

Here’s what is surprising: when I probe that answer, I rarely hear about tangible achievements – no stories about building a bridge, climbing a mountain, learning to play piano, fighting a disease, or repainting the barn. Rather, the busyness seems to consist of catching planes, working long hours, answering email, or running the kids through a marathon of activities.

Are we busy being busy? Has activity morphed into a confirmation of our human value? Does the economy drive us to say things like that so people will know our “market position” is secure/rising?

As Joanne and I drove to this event, listening to NPR, a doctor talked about his house or boat or cabin in the woods or something (I didn’t catch the beginning). He had named it “Diastole.” His explanation: “diastolic” is the heart beat’s resting state (“systolic” is the contraction state…the highest pressure point of the beat). The root word, Diastole (die – es – tall – eee), is a Greek noun meaning “drawing apart.”

Driving home last night, I wondered…are we afraid to say anything which would reveal “diastole” in our life? Can we only admit to life’s “systolic” moments?

Have we come down to… “I am exhausted; therefore, I am?”

I wonder if much of our “real busy” is perhaps rooted in fear. Are we are afraid of silence, our own thoughts, and intimacy?

Just wondering…

Please have a diastolic weekend.