I’ve shared this
quote before, but with all the talk revolving around the current economic
crisis, the increasing disparity in wealth among the classes and the increase
in stress-related health problems—courtesy of our too busy lives—I felt it
worth repeating:
To allow oneself to be carried away by a
multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit
oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to
succumb to the violence of our times. –Thomas Merton
For me the key
word that jumps out in that apt observation is, violence.
Running faster
on the hamster wheel of our work life is particularly understandable. It is the
most readily available (read: easy) solution to the problem of making ends
meet, but there is one obvious flaw--the harm we do to ourselves, and by
extension, our family members, friends and others.
Sacrificing
ourselves on the altar of family responsibilities or community responsibilities
may seem like a noble thing on the surface, but scratch that surface, locate
the mental, emotional and physical dis-ease that all of this so-called ‘noble’
sacrifice often results in, and we may need to re-consider what it is we are
saying yes to and get a deeper sense of why.
We need to get
real about what is truly important in life.
Understanding over-committing/over-extending ourselves as an act of violence I think is key
because it is true. And we have other options, one of which is lifestyle
adjustment. We can re-examine and question the value system promoting this
bigger, better, faster mentality. We can do things differently: smaller, slower and more thoughtfully, for example.
All I mean to
point out is that we all probably have saner options for keeping house and home
together that don’t do so much harm.
So, who/what do
you really Love?
Where are deep
meaning, joy and fulfillment actually located at the end of the day?
