I’ve often wondered why business was not spelled bizness or buisness -- we don’t pronounce it as busy-ness do we? But that’s what it is and as it is, that’s also the word origin…
Yep, I went to the web to research it and found this:
Old
English bisignis ‘anxiety’ (see busy, -ness); the sense ‘state of being busy’ was used from Middle English down to
the 18th century, but is now differentiated as busyness . The
use ‘appointed task’ dates from late Middle English, and from it all the other
current senses have developed.
And if you want to read a
bit more, you can go here: https://tinyurl.com/businessorigin
So, why am I musing about
this now? I have had to apologize to a student this week, saying that I was too
busy, and didn’t get around to sending a response to his work. That stressed
me out because isn’t it my business as a teacher to respond in a timely
manner? I was actually relieved to see the word “anxiety” in the word origin –
although that has been dropped in current definitions of the word business. I do
think there can be an aspect of anxiety to the “state of being busy” as most of
us find ourselves a bit too busy for comfort. The pressures of deadlines don’t
come from our play schedule – only from our businesses…
Just to reassure you, my
student said “hey, no problem” – he gets busy as well. And what I was busy with
was more legitimate business – gigs, rehearsals, workshops… And this is also
why my Friday blog is being written the following Tuesday…😖
It’s a good thing to be busy
with lots of work, but it’s not good to become overly busy to the point of becoming
anxious. Not good for the blood pressure! Many large companies require employees
to take time management courses, and some will require a certain amount of
downtime.
That’s great when the edict
comes from above, but for those of us who are self-employed, we are the
enforcer and the enforced, the leader and the follower. We have to be brave
enough to set boundaries and limits and organized enough to schedule in that much-needed
downtime.
I wrote a song during a
particularly stressful time (some years ago) and a friend thought it applies
more to those in large corporations than to a self-employed musician. “What,
you? Stressed? You have the ideal job!” And yes, I love everything I do in my
music career, but it does take a conscious effort to take care of myself in
addition to taking care of business.
You can hear the song here:
|
And here are the words:
Stretching Me Thin
© 2005 Verlene Schermer/BMI
All Rights Reserved
I can’t keep my head from spinning,
I can’t keep a focus in my mind
Can’t even remember why I’m running, and what I’m expecting to find
How many years has it been, chasing after someone else’s deadline
They keep stretching me, stretching me thin
So thin that I might break if I don’t take some time
Give me just a day to do nothing, Give me just a respite from the race
This is no way to be living, Always on the run – I can’t keep this pace
There’s another call to reply to, here’s another letter I should write
I’m forever falling behind too driven not to catch up late at night
How many years has it been, chasing after someone else’s rainbow
They keep stretching me, stretching me thin
So thin that I might crack if I don’t pack and go
Give me just a day to do nothing, Give me just a respite from the race
This is no way to be living, Always on the run – I can’t keep this pace
How many years has it been, chasing after someone else’s pipe dream
They keep stretching me, stretching me thin
So thin that I might snap -- with one more slap I’ll scream
Give me just a day to do nothing, Give me just a respite from the race
This is no way to be living, Always on the run – I can’t keep this pace
So, this is me now taking a
bit of a break. We’re going to Arizona not just for a "day to do nothing," but
for seven whole days to enjoy some downtime. We’ll be visiting the Musical
Instrument Museum in Phoenix, climbing red rock mountains in Sedona, and
checking out Prescott, which is a town we’ve never visited before!
💕Verlene
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