Commentary on Meditations: B1.12

12. From Alexander the Platonist: rarely, and never without essential cause, to say or write to anyone that 'I am too busy'; nor to use a similar excuse, advancing 'pressure of circumstances', in constant avoidance of the proprieties inherent in our relations to our fellows and contemporaries.

It seems that Marcus learned to avoid the excuse of “I am too busy” when it comes to spending time with people in our important relationships.

My wife and I used to have a running joke about making each other feel a little guilty every time we had to decide between carrying out a duty and spending time with family.  Whenever one of those conflicts would come out, we'd sing "and the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon ..."  if you don't understand that reference, then you can search on-line for the song entitle “Cats’ in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin. The gist of the song is that the dad is too busy to spend time with his kid and then eventually, when the kid is all grown up, the dad wants to spend time with the kid and the kid is too busy for the dad. It's a sad song and it's meant to give us all a major guilt trip. Without too much sappiness and guilt, the message is clear: make time with those closest to you; invest in your most important relationships; and don't let busy-ness be an excuse.