Over the past week I have noticed a number of people whose lives appear to be as out of control as mine.
There was the woman early Wednesday morning on her way to work, I suppose--it was still dark. She drove down Peak Street toward Central Expressway at break-neck speed while trying to apply her makeup, including mascara. How do you manage the bumps on a street in such terrible condition with a sharp object that close to your eyeball???
A bit later in the week I drove up behind a guy in an overloaded SUV--looked like the rear was packed with softball equipment. He was driving with one hand down an incredibly crowded service road. In his other hand he sported an electric razor. He was shaving on the way to work or wherever it was that he was headed. He seemed to be doing a great job, though I'm not sure how he could see the road with his head thrown back so far as he worked on his neck!
I'm one to talk.
Multi-tasking is out of control in my life. How about you?
Where is the Sabbath rest we were commanded to observe in childhood? I've never been an advocate of placing the 10 Commandments in public places, but maybe I've been all wrong!
Am I the only one who is facing the fact that we need some down time? Some simple rest?
Why do we keep packing more and more activity into the same, increasingly cramped schedules?
Think about it.
With each new efficiency we don't find a way to rest, we simply shoehorn more into our days.
I think we need to stop it.
How about you?
When you answer, please speak up as I'm listening to Meet the Press, brushing my teeth and glancing at the morning news while typing and getting dressed for church this morning.
4 comments:
Preach on, Brother Larry!!!!!!
No brilliant answers here. Just agreement.
Eugene Peterson's pastoral writings introduced me to the very idea of sabbath-keeping ("Working the Angles" the first...) American culture's idea of rest is a week's vacation to Disney World.
Peterson argues that God's Genesis 1 rhythm is a weekly rhythm - work hard 6 days, then stop for 1. He particularly criticizes religion buying into the game - cramming meetings, etc. into Sunday instead of encouraging it to become a day of "stopping."
I would go on, but I've got too much to do this morning. :-)
My favorite was watching a lady drive north on Central Expressway going about 65 miles an hour reading (not just glancing at!) a book and moving in and out as cars merged onto the freeway.
I have to admit, at some level I was impressed with her talent and wondered if maybe I could get more reading done if I tried things her way! :)
It really the selfishness of these actions...how is someone's makeup or shaving more important than our safety?
How about setting the alarm clock 5 minutes earlier? Just a thought.
MD
Dallas Progress
It's hard to avoid that behavior in a world of cell phones, Blackberries, 24-hour news, remote access to work computers....
It's very easy to equate "busy-ness" with business. The actual workload is no more than it was ten years ago, we just have more clutter/noise in the way.
I often wonder: if I'd been born centuries ago, how much better would my relationships be? would I be closer to God? have a better understanding of myself?
or were they having this same debate when they created the printing press?
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