Peace & Quiet

Where are we all going in such a hurry?

Is it me, or did the pace of life reach, as Mel Brooks would say, “ludicrous speed” in the last decade or so? Goodness gracious, it does seem like everyone I know has so much going on, and has to get it done in so little time, it allows for no time left to themselves.

What, with e-mail, cell phones, pagers, laptops, PDA’s…am I missing anything?...we are absolutely bombarded with information everywhere we turn. And I do mean bombarded. Have you noticed your e-mail Inbox if you leave for vacation, just for one week? Chances are, you’ll have heard from hundreds of your closest friends when you return!

All this new technology, with all of its benefits to mankind, has a major flaw. Namely, if we do not control the technology, it will control us. Simply because it is now so easy to communicate with one another by various and sundry methods, we all do so. But, we are drowning in this communication, little by little. Everything’s so darn fast…instant messaging, instant this, instant that…we feel after a while like a hamster on a wheel, running full tilt to get, well, somewhere, only we never really go anywhere.

If we look at Nature (that is, if we can put down the cell phone for just one minute to observe the natural world around us), we’ll notice an altogether different pace. There is no rush to nature, there is no hectic frenzy. Oh sure, there is an ebb and flow, but mostly, the frenzied pace we humans have chosen doesn’t exist. I think there’s a message there, right in front of our eyes, about the pace we should all be living.

I see God’s pace of life, the one He’d love us all to have, in the natural world. Animals know when to rest; they know when to be active. And, they do rest, often, during the course of a day. We human beings tend to drive ourselves to distraction, cram caffeine in our bodies so that we can continue the hectic pace, and then, if we’re lucky, get a few hours of blissful sleep each night just so we can get up and do it all over again!

And they say the animals are primitive.

My point my friends, and this goes double for me as I all too often can get stuck on the treadmill of life, is we’ll never hear, much less see, God if we don’t slow down and listen. I know its trite, the “stop and smell the roses” philosophy, we’ve all heard it a million times. But, are we listening? Judging by the pace of life, apparently not.

I believe that God is everywhere, and in everything. But, we can really get to know Him, and know Him best, in the silence. It is in those moments of nothingness, where we get off the treadmill of life and just listen, that we often hear that small voice within us gently calling us home. I have started my own little practice of meditation, and while I’m certainly no master, I can tell you that during these moments of daily silence I can feel God’s presence. When I force myself to slow down and literally “do” nothing, I know He’s there, I sense Him, and all is right with the world.

God is everything, but I personally believe that what God is most is peace. If we do not slow down for just a minute or two each day, we miss this. For far too long, I’ve gone way too fast, and I just don’t want to do it any longer.

So, turn off that cell phone for an hour. Go ahead; the world’s not going to end. Disappear for an afternoon, and go sit in your favorite park. Just sit. And listen. God will be there. He’s been waiting for you there for quite some time.

He’s a pretty good friend to talk to and get to know, if we just take the time to slow down and listen.

-The Minister