Busyness and Belly Rubs
Honey Bear, our little micro Goldendoodle, has a way of reminding me what really matters. She doesn’t care how many meetings I’ve had, how many emails I need to answer, or how many things are still on my list. When she rolls over asking for a belly rub, she wants one thing: my attention.
I’ve realized that the people we care about aren’t all that different. Sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone isn’t more stuff, more advice, or even more time. It’s our undivided attention.
This week on the podcast, Melissa and I talk about “Busyness and Belly Rubs” and the quiet toll that constant busyness can take on our relationships. There’s a big difference between being physically present and being relationally available. We can sit in the same room, ride in the same car, or eat at the same table and still be somewhere else mentally. When those small absences happen over and over, they can slowly create emotional distance between us and the people who matter most.
We all have busy seasons. The danger comes when a busy season becomes our normal way of living. Without realizing it, we begin giving the people we care about our leftover time. The relationships that matter most deserve more than our leftovers.
Take a minute to listen to our Relationshifts podcast called “Busyness and Belly Rubs.”
Maybe it’s time to shift from leftover time to protected time by intentionally making space for the people we care about. Sometimes that means putting down the phone, closing the laptop, asking one more question, sitting a little longer, or even stopping long enough to give a belly rub.
When we choose to shift from giving our leftover time to making protected time, we will make a difference.
Larry