Paradox and Inspiration 161: Better to be Busy Than Not?

I smile as I read "The Busy Trap" article dated 30 June 2012 in nytimes.com. Surely, not only the Americans have fallen into the trap. It is a phenomenon of the modern society where the keen pursuit of wealth to create a better life marks the very focus of everyday living. “Very busy!” as a response to “How are you?” is a way of telling others that everything is well and fine, that one is no loafer, is gainfully employed and much valued in the job and have no time for any form of idleness. I laugh at how the author describes busyness as an hedge against emptiness and how people are always sounding so insanely busy and dead tired, because I was no different in the past and now have been trying to do the opposite. Somehow, now I like to sound as free and relaxed as I could no matter how occupied I am. Why feign indolence? I’m not sure exactly why. Perhaps I have become a bit irritable from constantly hearing how busy people are, that time is against them and they have absolutely no time for this and that, how they are going bonkers and how stressed they are at work. I just want to appear to be out of line and atypical. I don’t remember meeting anyone who is not frantic with work or their kids, so maybe I could just be that breath of fresh air. What difference would it make if I add myself to the perpetually busy crowd? So what if I go around announcing to my friends that I am hysterically busy? Idelness doesn't equate with slothfulness, does it? Maybe someone who appears as more free than them or a freak who is busy keeping up with some trivial sounding hobby like drawing or reading would confound them and inspire them to drop their pace a bit?