Discussion Question 1-1
Can you relate to Fred when he says that mostly, we seem called to live a busy life in a secular world? (Reply by clicking on the “Comments” link below?
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April 17th, 2006 @ 7:21 am
After the last Nouwen blog on his book Reaching Out, I somehow came up with a short mantra for myself: “Jesus are you here? Teach me!” It came to me in the quiet, and I know why. Because I often had trouble wondering exactly where my prayer went or whether God actually heard it. I couldn’t tell. So I went back to the beginning and just kept asking Jesus if he was in my neigbhorhood. And if so, teach me something. It was my Lenten mantra, and I eventually “heard” that he was paying attention, but it’s something I experienced and can’t put into words. So I still keep asking, Jesus are you here? It’s a wonderful alternative for me to all of the noise in the world.
April 15th, 2006 @ 7:31 pm
Jill, what you say is so true–how many times have I turned spiritual practice into busy work! Instead of sitting quietly and praying/listening (as Genesee says), I’m trying to learn how to meditate (the right way!) or wondering if I should try another faith, which means buying books and doing research. Around and around, always trying to better myself.
How hard it is to say “Here I am, as I am.” I do like the Longfellow lines (thanks, Miriam), especially the “inward healing”–it’s such a soothing way to think about facing our brokenness.
April 15th, 2006 @ 1:07 pm
Lines from Longfellow:
“Let us then labour for an inward stillness
An inward stillness and an inward healing;
That perfect silence where the lips and heart
Are still, and we no longer entertain
Our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions,
But God alone speaks in us, and we wait
In singleness of heart, that we may know
His will, and in the silence of our spirits,
That we may do His will, and do that only.”
April 14th, 2006 @ 5:49 pm
Thank you all for your comments. Stillness takes deep faith. Being busy is so much easier.
April 14th, 2006 @ 5:04 pm
Genesee, I like what you said about turning down the noise. I think many of the responses to this question are age-related. I am 50. Even 10 years ago I would have thought that it was much harder to turn down the noise. “There’s too much to do, children, work, church, demands everywhere!” I was always trying to enhance my spiritual life, but I think I got too caught up in the details (if that makes sense). You are right, it’s in the quietness, not the busy-ness that the Spirit comes to us. I still hear the voices but I can quiet them down much easier now than when I was younger.
April 14th, 2006 @ 3:23 pm
I agree with Deb, who agrees with Jill about “resisting” the busy life. The voices of the world do not actually call me, but they make a lot of noise and are very distracting. I think that a call comes from inside, from the Holy Spirit, and I need to “turn down” the noise of the world so that I can hear Him.
I believe that we are all called to recognize our “belovedness” and to be still and appreciate this special quality. To be still is becoming very important to me in my later years (I am near 70). I am physically very active, but am lately more drawn to contemplative spirituality and am trying to slow down spiritually, and do less talking and more listening during my prayer time.
April 14th, 2006 @ 12:06 pm
Getting or being busy is a state of escapism we all plunge into, to fight off the disappointment that life sometimes is.
I feel making an effort to include God is a challenge, mostly because it is easy for emptiness to hit us. I need to remind myself constantly that God is fully alive and wants to be included in everything we do however small or mundane the activity. The beauty of doing that is the end result in whatever I do with a supporting and understanding God, is always productive.
April 14th, 2006 @ 7:44 am
Hello all,
I’m having better success with entering into and posting to this group, so I’ll share a few of my thoughts.
Fred. A very sad fellow who at that point in time was unable to believe in himself. Who didn’t know that he was “beloved”, that his true self could survive in the world, so he accommodated messages that he wasn’t good enough….that for his protection he must not succeed in exposing himself to the world, couldn’t give himself away to the world, in a sense, though using his gift. He was afraid it would destroy him. He couldn’t trust. It was easier to bitterly follow the lie of his own shame.
I dunno. Maybe I’m just projecting……. But I’ve had moments of Knowing I’m the beloved daughter, and each time it sinks deeper and deeper into my spirit, and I hope I become filled up enough at one point that it becomes a way of life - that I truly know who I am in the eyes of my Jesus - that I know myself to be loveable in the very midst of my weaknesses.
Carole
April 13th, 2006 @ 8:43 pm
Nouwen, especially in this book, fostered my own creative juices. I wrote this some time back:
The more we have to do, the more we find we are doing. The less time we have, the more things we fill up with that time. It is not the supposed rush in life, the time taken away by our 21st century life, but the things we do when we find a few minutes. We don’t last long with gym memberships. We don’t last long with church memberships. I believe it is dedication we should be after, not the restless moving from project to project, the skipping from book to book, the running from nugget to nugget.
April 13th, 2006 @ 7:15 pm
I like what Melinda says about the sacredness of the everyday duties. I sometimes think that it can’t get much better for us in this life than finding God in our smallest acts. Maybe the word “busy” isn’t the right word to describe what I meant earlier, because I certainly don’t think there is anything wrong with being active. I think several people mentioned that they enjoy knitting–I just LOVE to knit, to stay “busy” that way–it’s a wonderful, meditative way of passing the time while creating something. So activities like that are not what I mean by “busy-ness.”
The impression I get from Fred’s situation is that he is doing something that is against his nature. He’s a writer but he’s selling out. He isn’t honoring his gift, he’s exploiting it for the money–and this is what Henri understands by the end of the interview. Sure, Fred must earn a living, but it might be better for him to scale down his lifestyle and find a job that will free him up to write what he wants to write. His heart seems to be telling him this. I DON’T mean to imply that journalism is “selling out”–I only mean that in this particular situation Fred’s spiritual malaise was arising in part from him not listening to his own “calling.”
April 13th, 2006 @ 5:57 pm
Oh my, yes! Nouwen melts the heart through his insight into the “Belovedness” of Fred, a man filled with spirit, close to losing his dreams and deepset self via the world’s siren song…”you are what you do…your busyness is a symbol and indicator of your worth and status…the end justifies the means…”- all beliefs that raise the secular above the sacred and demand we worship at that altar. The world would have us busy instead of beloved. We are too often rewarded for this temptation and must often follow it to survive.
April 13th, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
Some random thoughts…
i think it is possible to be busy and conscious of being in relationship with God. For me that is a goal, though I need the times of quiet to make that possible.
I suppose the motivation behind the busy-ness is what needs to be continually evaluated.
The Celtic Christian looked at everything as sacred. Even mundane everyday chores became holy as they entered into it with the triune God as their life guide.
April 13th, 2006 @ 2:03 am
I am happiest when I am busy, but Deb and Jill are correct that we must look at what we are doing in the busy-ness. I think if we are living to serve others and make a difference then it is good to be busy/fruitful. But if we are busy because we are caught up in something that the world may view as important but may not be, that is different. When we pray I think it is important to ask God to open our eyes and ears to the needs and purposes He has for us each day.
April 12th, 2006 @ 8:02 pm
Jill, all I can say is, YES! I was nodding my head in agreement as I read your comment. I think of all the things I choose to busy myself with–half of them, at least, are things I could do without. The more I pay attention to all the voices of world–urging me to own “this” or measure up to “that”–the busier and more distracted and tired I seem to be. But it’s so hard to resist listening to those voices–they’re always promising to guide me to some kind of fulfillment. I’ve been thinking that I need some way of reminding myself to stop and listen to the voice within. I need to make that practice more a part of my daily life.
April 12th, 2006 @ 6:35 pm
I can certainly relate to Fred. I think most of us can. But I don’t think it seems like we are called to live that busy life. When I feel called, it is usually a difficult path that the Holy Spirit is asking me to take. So, to me, RESISTING the busy life, taking the time to nurture our inner spirit, walking away from what the secular world is asking of us and, instead, focusing on what the Lord is asking of us — that is what I think we are called to do. (And I’m betting that Henri will give us some insight as to how to accomplish that!!)