I posted this Eugene Peterson quote on Facebook:
“We live in a society that tries to diminish us to the
level of the antheap so that we scurry mindlessly, getting and consuming. It is
essential to take counteraction...Every one of us needs to be stretched to live
at our best, awakened out of dull moral habits, and shaken out of petty and
trivial busywork.”
Someone commented and asked what we are supposed to do
about this. Um, good question. I had to think about that. I came up with a
first step. If you want to live for your real passions, get intimacy with God,
or become a person of character and discipline, you have to simplify and
unclutter your life. You have to make time and headspace. You have to move your
attention elsewhere (to the things you really want to do). As a society, we go
to the extreme of noise, pop-up ads, and a million messages a minute. The media
keep us thinking about the rat race and our egos above all.
Do you find it hard to watch this video? (Watch it. It’s so
good).
I’m sure different things work for different people. For
me, in order to focus on what’s important and not tire myself out, it helps to
make room in my life and mind first, rather than just add things like “read the
Bible more” and “spend more time with God.” That time has to come from
somewhere, and we already feel like time is getting away from us. Where did the
day go, what did we do, and why do our heads feel so cloudy? I once read that “sloth”,
as it used to be understood, was avoiding spiritual work. This means that you
can be a constantly busy hard worker and still be a sloth. People who are
constantly busy: who are you working for and why? Are you trying to drown
something out?
Here are some ideas:
- Set time for quiet and solitude. How often do you block out time for rest? We were created for cycles of work and rest. Wake and sleep, week and Sabbath. I think you have to get that time to refuel and quiet your mind. That might mean leaving your house, going for a drive, going to the park, or calling a babysitter.
- Learn better time management. This means tracking what you do and how long it takes you to do it. For me, a staggering amount of time goes to the internet. Hardly anything gives you popcorn brain, kills your memory, has more clutter, or distracts like the internet. I suggest setting a daily time limit for the internet.
- Stop multitasking. Is your facebook window open right now, in case you get a little red notification? Multitasking wears you out, makes your brain foggy, and makes you bad at all the things you are doing at one time. When you read the phrase “stretched to live at our best,” do you think of doing a million things at once or do you think of fully throwing yourself into one thing? Does anyone else feel tired after browsing the internet in class? I really think it sucks all your mental energy. This is why my New Year’s Resolution, as of today, is to only do one thing at a time, focusing on where I am.
- Put down the gadgets. How long can you look another person in the eye and listen to them without itching to check your smart phone? Does Facebook replace real intimacy with other people?
- Reduce your exposure to brain clutter. Magazines, especially things like Cosmo and Glamour, aren’t necessary. You can look at fashion elsewhere and skip all the subliminal negative messages about materialism and body image that magazines contain. I’m not trying to be legalistic, but since I cut those mags out of my life, I feel a lot better about myself and life in general. Are your entertainment choices all reality TV, or do you ever read or watch a good show? Also, I like to “mute” commercials when they come on. I know that I often need to rest from my iPod.
- Meditate. If you don’t think meditation to clear your mind is good, you can meditate on scripture. Take one verse, sit in silence, and just think about it for 15 whole minutes. Set a timer. This really is one of the best ways to get to the bottom of a verse and really apply it to your life.
- Don’t take on too much. As a generation, we were taught to be “well rounded,” which meant that you had to do everything. I’ve tried to learn about nine languages. How much of the stuff that you start do you finish and follow through on? There is a verse in the Bible that says a completed task is good for your soul. How long has it been since you finished something? Do we possess the discipline to follow through, or did we lose it in all the clutter.
- Create art or go out and find some nature
- Do you have too much stuff? Are your house and cars cluttered? That will subconsciously add to your cluttered mind.
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