Downshifting ”No, sorry, I have no time.” “Nope, sorry, I am busy.” “I am really busy!” “Nope, sorry I can’t, I am just too busy.” Sound familiar? Ever wondered when did it become a standard to answer a question “How are you?” by telling how busy you are, instead of a simple “Fine, thank you, and you?” I didn’t. Then I noticed I was starting to resemble a badly behaving brat by expecting people to offer some sympathy for my self-inflicted hectic schedule, even when I always put them on a second place. I also became a victim of “Nope, I can’t, I am busy”-treatment myself, and I realized how upsetting it is want and need to talk with someone who always brushes you away with using these same words. It is almost impossible to answer to them without losing some of one’s self-confidence and pride. One thing in the world is wholly democratic in its basic nature: time. All of us have seven days a week and more or less 24 hours a day (some of us might have a circadian rhythm closer to 23 or 25 hours). The circumstances we live in might differ, but the amount of time we have doesn’t— as long as we are alive, of course. That is why I have decided, among many others of my generation, to downshift. Wikipedia defines this trend quite well meaning individual’s pursuit to live a simpler life to escape from the rat race of obsessive materialism and to reduce the stress, overtime, and psychological expense that may accompany it. I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the psychological expenses of that rat race is a psychological shield being busy offers. It works as a defense mechanism. The busy person never has to face himself or any other human being— he can always hide behind the mask of being too busy to be nice and considerate to others.
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