Last week I presented a summary of the first part of John Mark Comer’s book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. Comer maintains that our current frenetic pace of daily living is having a detrimental effect on our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Continual busyness and hurry can harm our health, destroy relationships, and kill joy. He goes so far as to say, constant hurry is unchristian. Jesus’ basic message was love, and “love is painfully time-consuming.”
In the second half of Comer’s book, he suggests four practices or spiritual disciplines for “unhurrying your life.” Jesus himself not only taught these practices, he lived them.
Silence and Solitude: What’s the first thing Jesus does to launch his public ministry? He goes into the desert where he was tempted by the devil. That word “desert” doesn’t necessarily mean endless sand and boiling heat. It can also mean a deserted place, a solitary place, a wilderness, or even a quiet place. It was in this place that Jesus received the strength “to take on the devil.” What’s more, again and again in the Gospels we see Jesus, amid all his busyness, seeking quiet places to be alone, to pray, to renew his strength. Do we follow his example?
We don’t have to book a flight to the Majove Desert to do this. Instead we can find or (more accurately) create pockets of solitude and silence even in the midst of our busy lives. These pockets will be different at different stages of our lives. Finding solitide and silence for parents with three small children might mean walking the dog in the evening or soaking in the tub while your partner watches the kids. Or sitting quietly after the kids are in bed. A retiree may make time to pray in the morning, go to Mass during the week, crochet a baby blanket for Birthright, or putter in the yard. Says Comer, “Your relationship to God is no different than any other relationship–it takes time alone together.”
The Sabbath tradition: The tradition of keeping the Sabbath is rooted in God. After creating the world, God rests. He stops working. “He sets aside an entire day just to delight in his world.” Later, when God gives Moses the Ten Commandments, we notice that the third commandment is longer than all the others. It begins: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” When Jesus “breaks” the Sabbath law by curing on the Sabbath, he is reminding us that no law or tradition is greater than God’s primarly law: love God, love others, love yourself.
Simplicity: The French sociologist Jean Baudrillard says that, in the Western World, “materialism has become the new, dominant system of meaning.” He maintains “atheism hasn’t replaced cultural Christianity; shopping has.” Comer adds these sobering statements: ” Shopping is the number one leisire activity in the U.S.”… Most of us believe the lie: the more money and stuff we have, the happier we will be. But Jesus said things like this: “It is more blessed to give than to receive… You cannot serve both God and money… Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth.”
Comer gives 12 ways to simplify our lives. Here are four: 1) Before you buy, ask: by buying this, am I oppressing the poor or harming the earth? 2) Recognize advertising for what it is–propaganda. Call out the lie. 3) Get in the habit of giving things away. 4) Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
Slowing: Mahatma Ghandi said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Comer suggests twenty ways to slow down. I’ll list six. 1) Drive the speed limit. 2) Show up ten minutes early for an appointment, and don’t use your phone during that time. 3) Get in the longest line at the checkout in the grocery store. 4) Set times for email and social media. Refuse to be available 24/7. (I regularly turn the volume off on my cellphone, landline, and laptop for an hour or so, figuring that the world should be able to get along without me for at least one hour…) 5) Walk slower. 6) single-task.
Comer concludes his book with the question he raised at the beginning. “How will you live?” Chances are, our world will go from fast to faster. Will you choose that road? Or will you remember, there’s another road. “Will you off-ramp onto the narrow path? Will you radically alter the pace of your life to take up the easy yoke of Jesus?”
For reflection:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 meaning “not hurried at all” and 10 meaning “extremely hurried life,” where do YOU fall?
Are there any words or phrases or pictures that touched your heart in today’s reflection?
Which of these spiritual disciplines do you already practice OR would you consider practicing to unhurry your life?
I chose two short videos today. The first is a short, short story (2 mins, 44 seconds) entitled “God is Speaking.” The second is a 5-minute walk through a Vermont forest.
After viewing “God Is Speaking,” let me know what you think about it. What did it say to you? Are you anything like the man in the story? Did any of “God’s post-it notes” speak to you?
Here is your 5-minute walk through a Vermont forest. No music, just the natural sounds of the forest and your own feet. After viewing it, did you find it beautiful? relaxing? magical? boring? Did you watch the entire video or did you fast forward it or cut it short?
I invite you to leave a comment below. We all love reading the comments!
27 Responses
Thank you for these “slow downs”.
Good morning, Melannie…
Good morning, all…
As I may have posted before, I am a Benedictine oblate out of Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Massachusetts. John Mark Comer’s book, which arrived at my doorstep two days ago, echoes several spiritual values found in the Rule of Saint Benedict. For me, silence and solitude are spiritual virtues I am constantly trying to live, but not always successfully!
I need my silence and I need my solitude. When I walk, I do not “plug in.” I listen to the ambient sounds of wherever my walk takes me — in the woods, on a sidewalk — it doesn’t matter. My wandering let’s my brain wander, too. Sometimes I’ll pray, sometimes I’ll just think about “stuff,” and sometimes an angry thought gets “walked away” by the end. “Solvitur ambulando”!
But my quest of silence and solitude vary. When I wash the dishes, I sometimes do so in silence, but other times with my favorite play list in the background; when I’m driving about, doing errands, there’ll be no radio, especially the yammering of sports radio, but again, sometimes there will be.
I could go on forever about this, but I’ll end with this: The Trappist monk, Thomas Keating, once said, “God’s first language is silence.” How good is that! And how good was that walk in the Vermont woods. I will watch it again!
Good morning, how perfect you would pick a walk in the VT woods today. I am, in June embarking on a new chapter in my life and moving to VT. I am excited and nervous. ( now I want to know where this beautiful walk is) Sister,you often have blog content that is good timing. Thank you. I read Matthew Kelly’s book Sliwing Diwn to the Speed of Joy, it was very good. Thank you for the reminder to pause, breathe, relax.
I hope you have a wonderful week
Lovely as always…’when can we talk’ post it feels very familiar as an aging parent and grandparent! In the woods, well I can’t help myself for noticing some invasive species there…very poisonous! Don’t brush up against them or pick them! I do love the woods, a healthy woodland is a marvel to behold. Thank you God for nature!
The post it note “let me Help you” really resonated with me. God is there if I only take the time, to realize and acknowledge it.
I hate to spoil the mood of tranquil reflectiveness. The pace of the walker was so steady and the path so straight, I wondered if the walker was ever thinking about anything odd. Never a pause, never a sense of slowing down or changing pace did I hear. I also heard no bird, insect, animal sounds or breezes. Sorry, there’s always a complainer in any setting. The message is wise. I’m sometimes on edge; there’s something at the back of my mind. Robert Frost wrote a poem about inner and outer weather, the leaves of trees sounding like human (though not deep) conversations. I’m glad you pointed up the values of silent walking and notes to oneself or another. The nearly full papering of the man’s kitchen with Post-its was quite funny. God’s care for us is not occasional; God’s constancy is lovable, not irritating.
Holy Face monastery in Clifton, NJ is my desert place to receive peace.
Go to the mountain.
Walking slowly in a cemetery and reciting a Rosary for the holy souls in Purgatory.
Beautiful walk in the woods. It feels like walking in the woods in western New York State. Thanks for slowing us all down this morning Sister Melannie.
Great insight on appreciating the time that we have at hand without having to fill it with all sorts of activities. Thank you Melannie!
Even in my “retirement” (for the last 10 years) I keep forgetting what that word means, but I am trying to slow down.
Another good book on the subject is by Matthew Kelly “Slowing down to the speed of joy”.
Good morning Sr. Melannie,
I hate to rush, so I try to avoid having to. I prefer to reach a destination with a modicum of grace, which rushing never allows. I also like to savor something I have just done or participated in, so I plan my days very loosely.
I am going to use the short video with the messages from God with a spiritual directee with whom I meet, who thinks of herself as a sinner. I’m hoping for a new understanding for her.
The walk through the forest was lovely. I enjoy solitude and nature, but at my age, I’m afraid to walk alone anymore. I am able to find solitude walking around my apartment with no sound from outside sources, as a contemplative experience.
Thank you and blessings,
Mary
As a young child in the ’60s, I remember the displeasure from my parents, aunts & uncles over the retail stores being open on Sundays, before color TV was commonplace. In the early 80’s, I remember a college class that raised a concern over an “ethos of consumerism” just when cable TV and Sunday shopping were becoming ubiquitous. In the early 2000s, cell phones for children were seen as a safety and convenience for busy parents to have a lifeline to their kids. Fifteen years ago, these same pre- and post-adolescents made the seamless transition to smart phones and from the black hole of sexting and bullying to social media platforms. No wonder it is hard to see, read and reflect upon God’s post it notes. Thanks for sharing a weekly note from God for us to ponder and help shift our thinking and our lives, Sr Melannie!
I find so many sticky notes all day long. I am loved. The I who was yesterday is no longer. The I am today, is. The I, I am tomorrow I can only anticipate. I am wanting to intentionally shift into participating vs observing living this. When did it happen. A shifting happens mostly change was so subtle but sometimes ubrupt… sometimes welcomed and sometimes not. Was it with aging? I was playing one day and then the next playing along side another also playing. Then I found myself watching the other play. (shift in parenting five kids perhaps). This video raised all kinds of emotional memories. The 2nd video I did not opt to finish watching- the walk. The five minutes used walking in my backyard with my five rescue dogs. I took a walk and it was good. Thanks for the sticky note to walk with my beloved in “two way prayer” and I found so many notes of spring and love ❤️.
Words that touched my heart:
‘”He sets aside an entire day just to delight in his work.”‘
This reminds me of Psalm 37:4
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
In time I’ve discovered that the Lord has become the greatest desire of my heart.
He is the one who makes everything else in time and creation worthwhile!
Of all the walks hikes in my life, including in the Adirondacks, Yosemite, the cascades,
Door county, WI, low country of South Carolina, and Mt Ranier, this was so totally without a sound from nature, water, birds, or other fauna…….only foot steps!
The path seemed manicured and unchanging, no challenges, in essence, too boring!
My memories of above adventures still bring joyous memories, especially the foot of snow at the Grand Canyon, March of 2006!
Marilyns
Thank you John and Sister Melannie. I have spent this year collecting wise sayings on “silence” and am pleased to add Thomas Keating’s to my list (now six) My favorite:
Psalm 46:10 … Be still and know that I am God.
Great insights and messages from Comer, thanks for sharing much food for thought. These days I relish peaceful solitude and am never afraid or bored spending time alone.
When I retired after over 30 years of a very hectic & stressful and less pleasure in a job, I wanted nothing more than to be free from schedules and alarm clocks. However, I spent the first 4-5 months wondering what to do with myself. Gradually I found going to daily Mass, taking walks, reading for pleasure and spending time in prayer and meditation each morning made for a calmer less hurried life.In silence I hear God speaking to me all through the day.
Walks in nature have been a particular joy of mine since I was a young kid. I loved the video of the walk in the woods and didn’t particularly notice no nature sounds until others pointed that out. Can’t wait for Spring!
Thank you for the “slow down” article. I LOVED the Vermont forest – it was rainy and stormy here in NC the day I opened this newsletter so I did not get in my usual morning, nature walk. This video was exactly what I needed! How did you know!
Thank you for all your posts.
Sincerely,
Barb
I kept wishing I could smell all the scents of the forest while walking through it.
I loved the first video. God is always waiting for us to accept and acknowledge his unconditional love. My oldest daughter Becky lives in Vermont, we have walked many beautiful forest paths together.
I start my day in quiet prayer it gives me peace and strength for whatever the day brings.
Thank you for thoughtful Mondays.
The nature walk was fabulous for me because I can no longer walk as I once could. I felt so relaxed while tuned into the sounds and smells. I heard birds faintly in the background. I smelled the perfume of the forrest and felt its humid touch on my face. I gave a sigh of happy togetherness half way through the video. Thank you so much for the walk. I’m saving it for another outing!
The God is Speaking video is a great reminder that we often don’t listen for God’s voice. We rush through life not seeing His touches of love.
God bless you this week.
Peaceful! I love my alone time . I am a widow and find joy in spending time sitting in my backyard, watching birdies, listening to the neighborhood sounds. In my home, I love my morning time of prayer before heading to morning mass. I always remember Jesus is right there with me…and my Guardian Angel! Thank you for sharing this nice reflection. 😊
Eva McReynolds in Georgia
I had two or three times I had to make myself NOT fast forward the walk — I have a tendency to rush everything. I eat fast, I pray the rosary fast, I walk fast, I am constantly looking at the end of stuff …I did watch it all the way through. I have to remind myself to slow down…I just put a sticker on my phone the other day that says “slow down your day with joy.” I’m 78, I really should want to slow down a lot – make the most of what time God still gives me. This blog this week helps me remember to keep working on slowing down. I enjoy things like the walk, I just have to remember to make it last; not “move on to the next thing.” Thank you for the reminder. You are one of my blessings in my week.
During the walk, I could feel my feet meet the dirt, anticipating and avoiding the large stones in the path, awaiting the bends, and marveling at God’s bountiful creation.
Thanks very much for the restful prayerful walk. I have shared it with many.
I find silence and solitude in my nature walks, but I like to hear the sounds of nature, birds, water, wind…….
I know that God is present everywhere but I find Him especially in the beauty of nature, at Mass and in the kindnesses of others.
Two of my favorite quotes from John Muir: “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” and “The mountains are calling and I must go”.
Sr. Melanie,
Another great reflection and reminder that we all need to slow down, not rush from one task to another or to multi-task all the time. I recently read another book with a very similar message, “Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy” by Matthew Kelly which I highly recommend. One of his messages is taking back the Sabbath as a day of rest, not using each Sunday to get caught up on things or making it just another day. I have been doing this the last few Sundays, after Mass, going to breakfast with a friend and taking out time to talk, reading a book I’ve wanted to get to, working on a relaxing craft project or just looking out the window and truly “see” all of God’s handiwork. As the saying goes, something like we won’t regret the things we took the time to do, but will regret those things we didn’t make the time to do. You are an inspiration to all of us!
I also noticed, the absence of God’s critters and their sounds during the walk.
I, like several of the respondents, enjoy some solitude. Practicing slow, thoughtful prayer, provides a little insight into where I’ve been and where I’m going; and is there hopefully improvement.