Busy Laziness

Busy Laziness.

No one likes to hear that they might be lazy. And those reading are for sure objecting. Who can blame you? Not me.

But there is a laziness where one can be very busy.

Cell Phones, iPods, DVD players, television, game players, and more can divert one from constructive habits. Cell phones can be very useful, but is yours overused. What about watching movies on DVD players ? All of these are time consuming.

It starts in the morning on rising when a button is pushed and coffee is made. A microwave cooks that biscuit and egg. An electric shaver shaves us while watching television. Push a button and the car doors unlock. Push another button and the windows go up and down. Arriving home a riding mower mows as we ride. A weed trimmer clears the weeds.

A list of such devices can go on and on. Some reduce physical labor while others just take up our time.

But such devices reduce labor to the point that it might be called a form of laziness, or can become physical laziness.

Then easily a person can become a couch potato type person physically. We have an examination and discover that our cholestrol has gone up to a level to high. Our body has not been used enough to burn up the food intake. Then we notice that our weight has gone up, and then comes dieting. Workouts at the spa become a habit trying to recover that once healthier body. Now we are back to getting exercise by costly methods. But admittedly they may be needed at times.

Can labor saving devices and electronics be the cause of activities that are helpful for our physical health ? The answer is yes and no, of course. We could walk behind a self-propelled mower and get a good walking exercise. Hand trimming around flowers and shrubs would give another type exercise. When shopping we could park as far out as possible and walk to the stores. And walking up stairs is another good exercise. The point is that there are good exercises for free, but we lose conscious awareness of them and their value..

What about electronics ? Mostly these are used by pushing a button, and that is the physical exercise. Even the brain may become numb to constructive and creative thought. And such devices can be very time consuming. Some are even immediately dangerous, such as talking on a cell phone while driving.

Users of all these devices are not lazy in the traditional sense. But they may be physically lazy. The point is that with a little thought good exercise is all around us ready to use, and they are healthy. Such devices are not the culprit for being overweight or having too high a cholestrol count. It is our own thinking about them and what they can do, and developing the mentality that we develop about their use. Once the thinking begins that we can do nothing without such devices, especially electronics, and overusing them, we are likely to become physically lazy.

Labor saving devices are good. Other devices can be debatable as to their usefulness. We fail to think about our body needing healthy food, and good exercise. And that workouts need not be strenuous, nor a spa needed, if we make use of the good exercises common to daily living, and use them daily.