Walking down the street we’ve got a million things on our minds.

Getting to where we’re going, getting there faster, planning for what needs to be done when we get there and then what needs to be done next.

And, let’s not forget figuring out if we can do more than one thing at once to get everything done in our crazy-busy day.

We are a society of busy people and we wear our busyness like a badge of honour.

But, at what cost?

Stress is one of the biggest threats to our health and this busyness we’re obsessed with is a major contributor to stress.

How bad is the situation?

Courtney Sunday, a mindfulness expert with tuja wellness, wanted to find out the depths of our addiction to being busy. She crafted up a sign and set herself up on a downtown Toronto street to see if anyone would take her up on her offer of “Free Zen,” an invitation to see if anyone would slow down for just 30 seconds and do a mini-meditation with her.

It’s pretty amazing to see how hard it is to get people to stop and breathe.

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Apprentice Editor: Brandie Smith/Editor: Travis May

Photo: Fabian Schmid via Pixoto