Americans certainly do busyness well. If you don't believe it, check Facebook. Or talk to someone about their weekend plans. Or listen to someone at work give you a rundown on everything they're doing or have done or are planning to do. And I wonder...why? Congratulations, you have a life. Or, in the case of work...maybe you're driving everybody nuts with your incessant descriptions of what you've accomplished (or not). I do my job very well, thank you. But if I spent my time telling everybody exactly what it is I do, I'd probably have to stay at work until 8:00 to actually DO my job. No, thank you. I'm going to do it and go home.
This new thing on Facebook - checking in every time you go somewhere or are with someone...why? The most interesting check-in I've heard about is checking in at church. Really? Who, except for God, really needs to know you've just checked in at church? I do understand in some cases you get a discount at a restaurant or business if you check in. Why? Do they think just because someone checked in at Styx (which sounds slightly ominous to me anyway), I'm going to throw on some decent clothes and run to eat there? Not likely.
So, my point is this: Does being really busy make us more content? Does being in the right place with the right people doing the right things validate our lives more so than if we just decide to spend some time in quiet contemplation?
I guess it depends on the person. I'm not making value judgments. I know some people who absolutely thrive on a full, hectic, crazy schedule. Or they appear to thrive on that...who really knows?
Recently I've spent a lot of time in quiet contemplation. I've prayed, read, watched the squirrels on the deck, watched my two new kittens destroy my house... And, I've decided I like the calm. I feel grounded and peaceful and centered. And with those feelings comes a strong sense of power. I get to choose how busy or not busy I am. I decide the course of my life with a whole lot of input from God (I'm not quite to the turn everything over to God stage, but I'm working on it).
I don't feel pressured to be busy all the time or to be doing the right things with the right people at the right places and the right time. I just am enjoying talking to God without rushing through. And I'm enjoying sitting and waiting for Him to talk back.
So, I promise not to judge you if you're one of those people who is busy, busy, busy and loves it - good for you...if you won't judge me for doing nothing at all :-).
Guilty. I check in at church. For the first time in my long life, I am actually part of a church I have wanted to be part of for the majority of that life. So, usually when I park my car, alone, at church, I hit the Foursquare button on my phone, and the GPS system tells me I am close to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. I enthusiastically tap the Check in Here button, and mute the sounds on the phone, grab my purse and go inside to be intimate with Jesus for an hour. Alone. With Jesus. No focus on the preacher, which has been my husband for the last 24 years of my life, or the special songs or musicians.... nothing that takes the focus off of Jesus. Finally, He sits on the throne of my heart where He has tried to sit for these many years, but I let the competition for this position-rightfully His- go to my husband, or son, or friend or myself.
ReplyDeleteYes, I check in at church. Not for God. Not for others. For my own extreme joy.
Wow, Vic. Your Blogs truly inspire me and challenge me to think about why I do some of the things I do.