When I woke up this morning, as always, my phone was the first thing in my hand. Soon after, I rushed straight into my chores. The moment one task ended, another stood right in front of me. Before I knew it, the entire day had slipped away just like that.
But tonight, as I lay in bed, a sudden question crossed my mind:
Did I actually do anything today that truly brought me joy? Did I learn something new? Or was I simply busy the whole day?
Then I began to think—it is not just today. Day after day passes by in this exact same way. Days turn into months, and months turn into a year before we even realize it. But in all this time, have we ever truly lived? My life has been moving along much like this for nearly a decade now. When I look back now, it feels as though I have merely spent my most precious time, not lived it.
I do not think this happens only to me. Perhaps this is the story of every single person in this world, no matter their country, culture, or society.
Gradually, we become so busy that we lose all awareness of when exactly we started equating “just being busy” with actually living life.
Today, everyone is busy with something or another. Students are busy studying, working professionals with their jobs, homemakers with household responsibilities, and business owners with their enterprises. Being busy is not wrong. Working is essential in life. But the question is: Has our entire life simply been reduced to sheer busyness?
If you ask anyone today—“How have you been? We haven’t met in ages.”—the most common response is usually:
“What can I say? I just don’t have the time.”
Following that, the person might even start sharing their worries, adding that they aren’t even happy with the very work keeping them so occupied. They want to do something else, yet they feel unable to do so.
That brings another question to mind:
Is staying busy like this the ultimate purpose of life?
Sometimes I wonder: Are we really living life, or are we just checking off days on a calendar?
I wonder how many of us have sat quietly, without any work, without any rush, just to watch the sunrise in peace.
How many people have listened to a loved one speak with their full attention, without glancing at a mobile screen?
And perhaps many of us don’t even remember when was the last time we lived an entire day free from chaos, anxiety, and hurry.
A student is so consumed by studying that they don’t even have a moment to ponder whether what they are reading is actually what they love.
In the exact same way, a person is so caught up in their job from morning till evening that they lack the time to sit for a few moments with their parents or children. And the saddest part is that many people are living this busy life not by choice, but driven by pressure, fear, or obligation. They find no joy in it, yet they keep walking down the same path.
So, does a purposeful life simply mean being busy?
Busyness only proves that we are doing something.
But life asks us: Is what we are doing actually necessary? Is it leading us toward the kind of life we truly want to live?
Today, technology has saved us a tremendous amount of time. Mobile phones, the internet, and countless conveniences have made our tasks much easier. Yet, we still don’t have time.
Why is that?
Where on earth does all the saved time go?
Did we invest that time in our personal growth? Did we spend it with our families? Did we use it to learn something new? Or did it simply slip away—mindlessly scrolling through phone screens, running in a constant rat race, and trapped in the habit of looking busy all the time?
Perhaps this is why we are slowly drifting away from the things that could actually make our lives better.
Who knows how many people haven’t read a single book since they started working or got married because they “didn’t have the time.”
And perhaps the biggest question of all is: If all our work were to finish in a single day, would we even know how to spend time with ourselves?
I feel that the problem isn’t in being busy.
The problem begins when, in the midst of our busyness, we completely forget why we are doing any of this in the first place.
And in the end, I only want to leave you with one question:
You must have been very busy all day today. But as the day comes to a close, ask yourself just once—Did you merely spend time today, or did you actually do something that made you feel like you lived a little piece of life?