I went for a short walk the other night mostly because I
wanted to listen to a few new songs I had just purchased for my Ipod. There’s nothing like some familiar songs to
get you moving.
When I returned home I sat on the porch and listened a
little longer. I realized while sitting
there that I do not do that a lot anymore.
Usually, when I listen to music, I am doing something along with it.
I mentioned this to my husband, recalling how when I was
younger I could sit in my room for hours on end listening to the Beatles, Elton
John or Anne Murray. What did we do all
that time while the record player was going? I don’t remember actually doing
anything other than just sitting and listening. Maybe drawing? I don’t recall. The most important thing
seemed to be trying to get the words right and hit a few notes on key every now
and then.
There is a lot of value in just sitting and doing nothing
from time to time, but active adults don’t do much of that anymore. We think we are too busy. Besides, it probably feels too much like
wasting time, something in our culture today that is akin to laziness. I think that is really sad.
Scripture tells us that even Jesus, as busy as he was going
from city to city, took the time to go up on the mountain to be with the Father. Sometimes he gathered everybody together as
well. Maybe he sensed they needed a
break from the tension going on around them and the work they had yet to do. Maybe it was his way of saying, “Hey, you
can’t do this if you don’t rest with me.”
I am sure there were a lot of things they could have been doing, but he
showed them, quite clearly, that nothing was as important, at that moment, as
spending time with him.
That evening on the porch melted into more quiet time in the
house, where I relaxed and enjoyed the peace.
I definitely do not do that enough. How can we “go on mission” (we are sent at the
end of every Mass), if we do not spend some time being renewed?
Listening to my new music, which was actually quite old, (it
was from my high school years), I was transported in time. Friends from years ago came to mind and my
travel to the 70s left me with this pervasive sentiment that I couldn’t quite
grasp.
It’s funny how music can immediately take you back to a
place and time you haven’t thought about in awhile. It’s like the lyrics in the
Styx song Come Sail Away: “I look to the sea, reflections in the waves
spark my memory, some happy, some sad, I think of childhood friends and the
dreams we had.“
Maybe we should “waste” time more often. I think a healthy pace in life is good for
the soul, and that must include some down time.
But I don’t think it should just come in waves like once or twice a year
in scheduled vacation time; it should be built into a regular part of our day
or week.
If we do this, then maybe it would help us avoid the idea
that we can “bank” our resting time, in order to use it during that limited
time off. This is not only impossible, but not particularly helpful to us
during the rest of the year.
There is a tendency, from what I have seen, to want to pack
too much into that short period of time known as a vacation, only to find
ourselves coming back exhausted, rather than re-energized.
Why not just plan a day or two, here and there, in order to
play more throughout the year?
I must say, the last time my husband and I went away for a
weekend, we gave ourselves permission to do nothing. We didn’t plan our days at all. We did whatever we felt like, whenever we
felt like it. We had so much fun and
came back so refreshed. Admittedly, we
didn’t go anywhere that could even remotely be considered exotic (Michigan
doesn’t have those kinds of places), but the best part of all was that, when we
returned, we didn’t feel like we needed another vacation in order to recover
from the one we’d just had!
Now, I don’t want you to get the impression that I am
somehow against amazing vacations in far-off lands, because those can be
invigorating, too. But if they include
over-stuffed agendas (as they often do), I wouldn’t think that would be particularly
relaxing. Of course, maybe it’s just
me. I don’t survive in the crazy very
long. In fact, I am someone who can find
spiritual retreats too busy at times!
When I was a kid, we always gathered with friends on the front
porch and hung out. Today, we would look
rather idle, but back then, it was normal. Since we are fresh out of mountains
around here, I think Jesus, would recommend more porch sitting.
In fact, I can almost hear him singing a little Simon and
Garfunkel, “Hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might
reach you.”
Oh yeah, the words of the prophets are
definitely “whispered in the sounds of silence.” Have you been listening lately?