For a long time it seemed that busyness was a badge of honor. I am guilty of responding to the question “How are you?” with a sigh and a single word: “Busy.” I’m relieved to hear more and more people pushing back against busyness as measure for the value of our lives.

Recently, I saw a cartoon by Megan J. Herbert that really resonated with me. The drawing makes the point that the work people see is a very small fraction of the volume of unseen work that makes what people see possible. It is, as they say, just the tip of the iceberg. Though it was titled “The life of an artist,” this concept is true about so many types of work, including the work of self-understanding, spiritual growth, and discernment.

Later that same day, I had a session with my spiritual director. I described the cartoon to him, noting that it matched my experience over the past year as I discerned my next steps and moved into this year of rest and renewal. There was so much going on within me that people couldn’t yet see, but I could feel the impact of being intentional about rest and downtime and the deep inner work I was doing.

His response affirmed what I had been feeling about the compulsion toward busyness. He said, “This is why busyness is so deadly. It says the only thing that matters is what is visible above the water.”

It is so tempting to let the optics of what is visible above the water shape the way we value (or not) the work that goes unseen. Yet that deep work is holy. The work below the surface, with its nuance and insight, dismantling and reconstructing, is what allows us to show a truer more centered version of ourselves in the world and engage with others from that perspective. If we’re not attentive to it, our busyness can get in the way of that deep work.

Reflection Questions

On a scale of 1 to 10, how busy are you (1 = not at all / 10 = your head is spinning with the busyness)? Drop a number in the comments.

What unseen work helps you be well?