Day 68 of the End to End in 2019 was not busy. It began at Ruthwell Station, a village that no longer has a station. It continued via Mousewald and the Drummuir Ice Cream Farm, to Collin, where we got some stamps in the village hall posing as a Post Office, and finished further up the road at Greenbogue Farm. It was one of those quiet days of showers and flowers which connect other days to make up a whole LEJOG.
Meanwhile at John O’Groats Mel Nicholls was claiming a new world record in her Hand Cycle Britain challenge. Someone else somewhere was busy.
Being busy is a thing I think differently about these days. Since 2018, busy has meant different things. I’ve plenty to do, which qualifies as busy but I’m not anywhere near as busy as in previous parts of my life. I’m busy enough, not bored or fed up but I’m not chasing my tail or leaving things undone. I wonder how busy came about and why it’s so much a mark of our society?
On days like day 68 my remembered Winnie the Pooh is just as important as my remembered bible. This well loved story by AA Milne was part of my childhood and something I passed onto my daughter during hers. In fact I was still doing remembered Winnie the Pooh as a School Chaplain where I used to dress as my alter ego, Tigger.
One of my favourite hums from Winnie the Pooh is ‘I could spend a busy morning seeing Eyore/And I could spend a busy morning not seeing Eyore’. Well I’m sure you get the idea. Rabbit, who was often busy and had a lot of friends and relations, was another I used to dress as from time to time. But Rabbit was not all that popular with the other creatures in the forest for always organising them. On the whole there’s only so much organising we can stand. Busy is fine but pushy is not so admired as a leadership characteristic.
What sort of leadership do you admire? There’s humble and shambles, chaotic and rigid, and about as many more as you like to name. I’m not advocating busy for busy sake but dithering rarely cuts it and avoidance is not admired. Competent gets my vote. That and being willing to admit to any mistakes: it’s a mistake to pretend otherwise.
From the remembered bible: Jesus took the form of a servant and was humble, even leading to his death on the cross.
Jesus said: ‘I am the true and living way.
My decision to continue to follow the humble servant One is not a cop out.
I choose the Jesus Way today for honesty, integrity and truthfulness.
I admit I’m not always spot on in my choices of behaviour,
but facing up to mistakes and having another crack at it are important life options to me:
not busy for busy sake, but focused on the kindom.
JAL: 20.06.2020