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06 December 2008

Too busy to listen?

There are many things I have wanted to write about this past week but by the time a get around to it they are missing from my memory. I really need to invest in a notebook or at least a notepad and take notes to refresh that memory when I finally get the opportunity to sit down at the keyboard. It is those little suggestions that come to your mind in the middle of the night, or while you are driving to work and you’re stuck in traffic, or you are stuck in a staff meeting; that is when you’re mind starts to wander and you receive some marvelous ideas.

I have a hard time staying awake in meetings. On the one hand I think that I am easily bored but on the other hand I think that I am on a constant go and when I come to a screeching halt to sit in a meeting I tend to fade out. I think that this has something to do with being on pace all the time, from the moment we rise till the moment our head hits the pillow we are doing something. It isn’t always something important. It isn’t always something of value. It is just something. When you get to those points we you have to do nothing, like standing in lines or sitting in meetings, the body and mind go into pause mode.

At work we have to appear to be busy, whither it is productive or not is another matter though I am always trying to be productive because it is in my nature to do so, even then there is always the effort to appear busy. This even comes at times when you have to sit and think your way through a problem; you have to do it in such a way that it appears you are busy. I am sure that this affects more than just those of us that live in a world of Dilbert.

This carries over into our home lives as we return home to find a list of daily and weekly chores awaiting our arrival. There is enough busy work backlogged to keep us busy for a month of Saturdays. No wonder we crash on the couch, flip on the TV and mindlessly surf the voids that use to provide some respite through entertainment. And when there is a commercial on, we can’t let that time go to waste so we are up doing little chores running to and fro or we start to channel surf looking for something to fill the gap between the program in an effort to ease our conscience for sitting there inert for the 2 to 3 minute exposure of advertising drivel.

When did we lose control of this thing we call the time of our lives? And how do we gain it back?

We used to hear about the time before TV when people used to sit around and have conversations. Now that seems to have been relegated to a chore and must be done only on a cell phone while commuting in the car.

People used to read books for personal education, entertainment, and enjoyment. There seems to be too much personal effort after a long laborious day to want to expend anything in that area. Besides it takes many, many hours to make your way through one whole book when you can throw in a DVD and watch the movie in a fraction of the time. I could probably watch all 7 Harry Potter movies in the same amount of time it takes to read one of the books.

So when it comes time for prayer and meditation, do we even allow ourselves the time for prayer and meditation? I mean, how much time does it take anyway? I can say my prayers in 30 seconds if I try. Or can I? It can take me a good 30 seconds just to call someone on the phone and leave a message on the answering machine. Why should my conversations with God be any less important than a daily call with a friend? And do we take the time to listen for an answer? Are our prayers truly a two way conversation, or are we just leaving a message on the machine?

I think that we need that eternal feedback from our Heavenly Father. It is an essential ingredient in the makeup of who we are. When we go without sleep are bodies feel deprived and try to compensate until sleep is mandatory. When we go without food for too long our bodies try to tell us through hunger pains that this condition cannot be a lasting one. When we go without spiritual nourishment, can we as easily read the signs of a deficit, and can we readily spot the damage done?

Perhaps that is why in those moments of sitting in meetings, inching along in traffic, standing in line, or nodding off to bed, when the world is put on hold and the pause button is pushed; perhaps it is at those times that the mind can truly reflect on things, ponder if you will, and there is enough calmness around that the inspirations of heaven can finally penetrate the noises and clamor of the world that it can reach my ears and my heart.

Perhaps that is why I shouldn’t just let those times come as a matter of chance, but should seek them out. Perhaps I should even schedule them into my daily routine. That way they will be a constant part of my life rather than a passing coincidence.

Perhaps you already know this, and I commend you if you do. After all, you did read this rather than doing something else. Perhaps it made you stop and ponder.

I know I did.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.