Let’s all take a deep breath, shall we? Let’s just gather on the front porch and observe the sky and the color of
the grass. Have you noticed the changes recently in both? Summer is melting into autumn, and nature is joining in the transformation. Oh, but maybe you haven’t had the chance to notice because you are super busy.
I know. I say those words, too. We are supposed to be busy all the time. We are supposed to be productive and exhausted and selfless and flawless. We are supposed to be known for something extraordinary, and we are to be the best of anyone, the top contender in each avenue we pursue. To have one college degree is rarely adequate. To own one car or one house is viewed as meager. To be satisfied with where you are with what you have is absurd. There is always more to own, more to do, more to become. Perfection is the goal and laziness at any kind of slow speed is simply unacceptable.
Sorry. I beg to differ. Our culture’s obsession with achievement is highly questionable. We are killing ourselves and our souls with the need to be better. Even worse, we are dumping these ridiculous notions on our children and youth. When was the last time you saw a child sitting under a tree looking at bugs or reading a book? Such an agenda in our culture is viewed as a waste of time and ingenuity.
But don’t you wonder, even secretly if you can’t admit it out loud, if we are missing something as we all strive to be successful? Don’t you wonder what might happen if you could begin to turn toward a lifestyle that is satisfactory, pleasant, and worthy just as it is? What if we didn’t have to take anti-acids and anti-depressants just to keep up and instead took slow walks and time in our own vegetable gardens? What if we gave up our 5am gym appointments and rested an additional thirty minutes and then quietly steeped our tea and moved outside to watch the sun come up? And what if we got our exercise in the afternoon by playing basketball with kids who normally stay inside after school? What if we worried less about getting the A+, the promotion, the better title and the star in our crown and instead decided that good enough is actually good enough? What if being on the winning team didn’t matter as much as connecting with others who enjoy what you enjoy? What might happen to our children and our society if we cared more about relating to each other and our environment than we do about how we are viewed on scales of achievement?
Oh, I know what you are thinking about now. You are thinking that without the achievers we would still have plagues and a lack of electricity, and we would be more oppressed and less respected. We would have a society of under-achievers, and we would lose all that we have worked so very hard to accomplish both personally and culturally. We have to be achievers or what?
It’s really not either or.
It’s really not black and white.
It’s just a different way of looking at what all of this means and how healthy it is or is not. Maybe you thrive on super speed and super busy. Maybe you feel most alive when you cannot find an empty space on your calendar. Maybe you and your God meet at every intersection of more.
But maybe… just maybe… there are other ways of being in this world that keep it turning at just the right speed. Maybe there is something incredibly important to the health and well-being of the human race via measures of stillness, silence, and slow intentions that inspire gentle actions.
Maybe we would all feel better if we could slow down enough to see each other’s eyes, to hear the sound of crickets, to embrace the fact that decades ago when we first arrived to this earth… we were already whole.
Maybe it’s time to let go of what has caused us forget.
The browning grass already scattered with leaves of red and gold whispers, “Yes.”
the grass. Have you noticed the changes recently in both? Summer is melting into autumn, and nature is joining in the transformation. Oh, but maybe you haven’t had the chance to notice because you are super busy.
I know. I say those words, too. We are supposed to be busy all the time. We are supposed to be productive and exhausted and selfless and flawless. We are supposed to be known for something extraordinary, and we are to be the best of anyone, the top contender in each avenue we pursue. To have one college degree is rarely adequate. To own one car or one house is viewed as meager. To be satisfied with where you are with what you have is absurd. There is always more to own, more to do, more to become. Perfection is the goal and laziness at any kind of slow speed is simply unacceptable.
Sorry. I beg to differ. Our culture’s obsession with achievement is highly questionable. We are killing ourselves and our souls with the need to be better. Even worse, we are dumping these ridiculous notions on our children and youth. When was the last time you saw a child sitting under a tree looking at bugs or reading a book? Such an agenda in our culture is viewed as a waste of time and ingenuity.
But don’t you wonder, even secretly if you can’t admit it out loud, if we are missing something as we all strive to be successful? Don’t you wonder what might happen if you could begin to turn toward a lifestyle that is satisfactory, pleasant, and worthy just as it is? What if we didn’t have to take anti-acids and anti-depressants just to keep up and instead took slow walks and time in our own vegetable gardens? What if we gave up our 5am gym appointments and rested an additional thirty minutes and then quietly steeped our tea and moved outside to watch the sun come up? And what if we got our exercise in the afternoon by playing basketball with kids who normally stay inside after school? What if we worried less about getting the A+, the promotion, the better title and the star in our crown and instead decided that good enough is actually good enough? What if being on the winning team didn’t matter as much as connecting with others who enjoy what you enjoy? What might happen to our children and our society if we cared more about relating to each other and our environment than we do about how we are viewed on scales of achievement?
Oh, I know what you are thinking about now. You are thinking that without the achievers we would still have plagues and a lack of electricity, and we would be more oppressed and less respected. We would have a society of under-achievers, and we would lose all that we have worked so very hard to accomplish both personally and culturally. We have to be achievers or what?
It’s really not either or.
It’s really not black and white.
It’s just a different way of looking at what all of this means and how healthy it is or is not. Maybe you thrive on super speed and super busy. Maybe you feel most alive when you cannot find an empty space on your calendar. Maybe you and your God meet at every intersection of more.
But maybe… just maybe… there are other ways of being in this world that keep it turning at just the right speed. Maybe there is something incredibly important to the health and well-being of the human race via measures of stillness, silence, and slow intentions that inspire gentle actions.
Maybe we would all feel better if we could slow down enough to see each other’s eyes, to hear the sound of crickets, to embrace the fact that decades ago when we first arrived to this earth… we were already whole.
Maybe it’s time to let go of what has caused us forget.
The browning grass already scattered with leaves of red and gold whispers, “Yes.”
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