Is busy an emotion?

"How are you?" anyone might ask a friend. "Oh, busy, and yourself?" might be the reply. And what does that tell us? Is this person happy that they are busy? Stressed? Uncomfortable? Is there a reason they're busy? Are they avoiding something or just taking too much on?

Why do we treat business as an emotion, as something we should aim for? Everyone knows that people generally are taking more on to do in a shorter amount of time, but does that mean we forget about emotions? That busy and not busy are the only emotions we register...

Usually when I ask 'how are you' I don't mean "how occupied are you?", I mean "how's it going? how are you as a person dealing with your environment? Are you healthy?"... And Busyness isn't really an answer to those questions...

Now people can argue (and arguing is good, it takes your mind off that busyness for a moment, giving it a break) that replying 'good' to the question is just as non-emotive, and I can't quite think of why I prefer being told that than 'busy'... Maybe someone else knows...

So busy as an emotion... It's just a thought, reminds me of Newspeak somehow, actually all of Orwell's Oceania... No actual emotions, stating only the facts... Are we going to be called to Room 101 if we state "yeah, I'm alright, feeling a little tired, but that's just because i'm horribly tired"?

I don't know... My point really is just that it seems crazy that busy has now become an emotion, and it's one of those emotions that if you don't have it, there's obviously something wrong. Unhappy people are questioned on what's wrong, should we do the same to people who don't say they're busy?

"Hi! How are you?"
"Yeah, not bad thanks, just getting over a cold. And yourself?"
"So you aren't busy then?"
"Not particularly, just handed in all my assignments, so I'm alright."
"Hmm.... you need a job... and why don't you volunteer at this function for lame kids... and shouldn't you be studying for the exams? Would you like to play in my hockey team?"
"Well not really... I need a break after those assignments... Yeah, I know, exams... I'm getting there... What are you up to these days?"
(said with pride)"Oh, keeping busy.... uni, exams, sport, work, church..."

What's wrong with taking some 'down time'? What compels us to announce proudly that we're
'keeping busy'?

Anyway, this isn't a snipe at someone in particular, just a rant at the answer I received several times today to one of our most commonly asked questions... Please just think what you're saying next time you answer, think about what the question's asking and why it's so 'good' to be busy....