A friend has just passed on a book she has been reading: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. As I read this book I reflect on our roles as chaplains, the people we meet at times of crisis or joy. I wonder how we come across to those we encounter. Do they feel heard, accepted, enabled to articulate their pain and concerns? Or do they hold back, feeling apologetic that they have taken up our time when we are clearly so busy? It is not always easy to be wholly present to those we meet, either in our working or personal relationships and yet it is the most important thing that we can do.
We belong to a culture of busyness, hurry and overload, where God, and other people are in danger of being marginalised. We are part of a society which has become enslaved to smart devices, emails and social media. (The average person looks at their phone 58 times a day), and if we work within a business or government sector we have the added weight of work directives, mandatory training and daily updates! We are therefore, even if we are not aware of it, distracted, this can impact on how we come across in our work as chaplains and how we feel about our roles. It is hard to be present to others if we are not present to ourselves.
Work and personal commitments are not going to go away. Indeed, the only thing which we can control is our own attitude to the pressures that surround us. We may wish for more hours in the day to fill with tasks or leisure, but that just leads to more overload. The achievement of balance will be different for each of us and there are practical steps we can take to reduce our media consumption. For most of us, we need to make a conscious effort to create time and space for prayer or contemplation.
For some, working in a garden or being with nature will fulfil that purpose. For others it may be a practice such as Mindfulness or yoga which enables us to be present to ourselves. We need to choose what works for us. As John Mark Comer says in his book, hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life. We cannot nurture feelings of love, joy and peace either in ourselves or others in the midst of hurry and distractions.
In his poem. The Peace of Wild Things, Wendell Berry describes his place of rest and contemplation which restores his soul. May we too find such places in which to retreat despite our busyness.
The Peace of Wild Things. Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
And I wake in the night to the least sound.
In fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake.
Rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things.
Who do not tax their lives with forethought of
Grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars.
Waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world and am free.
Mary Hanna
Trustee, CWC