Are you rushing too much?

Photo by Hannah Tims on Unsplash

I have been thinking about time in the last while.

Two things have got me thinking about this.

Firstly, I was reading Edward Leen’s book “Why the Cross?” He wrote it in 1943, smack in the middle of the Second World War. It’s a heavy read but a good one. Early on in the book he says:

… men hurl themselves from one end of the earth to the other with vertiginous speed. They do this as though they had some secret hope that life would discover its purpose and acheive its utmost expression in compassing the greatest distance in the shortest possible time.

Life is in movement, it is true, but not in movement of this kind. Because the earth is round, the more rapidly men can propel themselves mechanically, the more quickly they will arrive at their starting point! What a barren achievement!

And that was in 1943 when there were no motorways, no internet, no automation, very little really that propelled you to do something quickly. And look at us now: the uber pragmatic, productive, proactive selves seeking greater purpose once again, but at a faster speed.

Another thing I came across was this podcast with Kharma Medic and Ali Abdaal in his podcast “Deep Dive”.

He talks of his struggles with being too absorbed with time and how we noticed it happening to him, and what he did to pull himself away from the frenetic productivity. The clip is linked below:

What struck me about both of the above is the common ailment that we all have of idolising progress in whatever form it takes, and making time our marker for that progress.

We move from one moment to the next, pinpointing markers to achieve something or everything on the basis of goals that try to beat time constraints.

We try achieve our goals through our GPS, our Fit-Bit, our Pomofocus timer, our To-Do list, … and each moment, we are looking on to the next thing we need to do.

Suggestion

I’d like to make a small suggestion to look at this a little differently.

The next time you’re thinking ahead time-wise, say to yourself: “This is where I need to be right now.”

Particularly in light of God’s providence and his will for you. Where does He want you to be?

This where I need to be.

When I am with others.
When I am working on something.
When I am spending time with our Lord in my local Church.

This is where I need to be.

We worry. We get uneasy sometimes, thinking of all the things we need to do and the places we need to be.

But really, where we need to be is where we are right now. Reassure yourself in God’s presence - Lord, this is where you want me to be right now. And savour that moment with Him.