It used to be when you would ask someone “How are you?” they’d say “Fine.” That was the typical and traditional answer even if your house were falling down. People would say it without thinking and you didn’t care if it was true or not. You’d just nod and go on your way.

But I’ve noticed lately when I ask “How are you?”–there’s a different answer–people reply: “Busy” or “I’ve been busy.” And I find myself saying it too: “I’ve been busy ” or even “crazy busy.”

So, I’ve been wondering: what does this mean? Are people really busier now than they used to be? I’ve come up with a few ideas.

In past centuries, family farmers worked long and hard hours. But what seems different about modern life is the diversity of competing activities, going on all at once. That’s certainly true of my life. I feel like a juggler–I’m an artist, teacher, public speaker, administrator, writer…. If I’m fulfilling one responsibility, I’m not doing something else that seems equally important…

Also, we live with machines that are always “on”-our smart phones, computers, tablets… If our machines are on, that means we ourselves are never really “off.” We’re always accessible. “Just a minute while I check my email”… “oh someone’s texting me…” “let me google that…”

So, our lives seem to run at a frenetic pace. Just like Charlie Chaplin in the movie “Modern Times,” we ourselves are like our machines that keep going and going and going.

But I think there’s something more–something about our values in the 21st century. When I ask someone “How are you?” and the answer is “busy” it’s the same as saying “fine” or “okay.”

Because if you’re busy, it means your life is full–that you have important things to do and important people who want you. So if your “line” is busy, if your calendar is all booked for the next century, and your days are so over-scheduled that you have hardly room to breathe, does this really mean you’re fine???