Sunday morning, following the reading of Eccliastes 3: 1-13 by Bill Way and Heather Chubb-Way, four members of the congregation, representing three generations, offered their reflections on the "rhythms of the seasons and the rhythms of human life, time to plow and time to play, time to work and time to rest. The rhythms of busy and play, work and rest have become blurred as we have become out of touch with the natural ebbs and flows of time and energy in this beautifully-created world. Brenda Wallace, Denise Carroll, Tiana Carroll and Richard Christmas's reflections highlighted this theme, with varying degrees of whether or not there was a balance in the ebb and flow in life, work and rest, a time for busyness and time for slowing the pace." (Rev. Peggy)
Rev. Peggy's Lenten theme has been Reconnecting with an Unhurried God. She has been "focusing on the theme of busyness and how it is affecting our lives both health wise and spiritually. The four people who shared with the congregation were asked to respond, in an honest way, the reality of busyness in their lives and what they do to let go and make space, or to slow the pace, or fast from busyness. Finally, they were asked to respond to the question, "What do you do to rejuvenate, if anything?"
Brenda Wallace's reflection is attached as a file below. She has also offered a brief recap of what her three fellow speakers had to say:
Denise Carroll talked about spending time in nature, stopping to enjoy the sights and sounds and being mindful of her blessings. She talked about the importance of friendship - a weekly coffee date with her best friend that centres her. She volunteers in her son's school, reading to the kindergarteners but finds time with her family to be the most rejuvenating time of all. She concluded, "I'm only as busy as I have to be."
Denise's daughter Tiana spoke next. She is a grade 12 student and her current stress is filling out scholarship applications and preparing for year end. She has five commitments that keep her on target: field hockey, family time with a sit down dinner for five once a week, time with friends, talking out her elements of stress and every Friday, volunteering at Renfrew with disabled children. Her rejuvenation comes from her "awesome support."
Richard Christmas', retired veterinarian, initial comment was, "I'm exhausted listening to these youngsters!" In his career as a vet, time pressure was guaranteed. Crisis was followed by crisis, lunch was gobbled and everything was done at maximum speed. He lamented that busyness was still ingrained but he is learning to consciously be mindful of enjoying food and to refrain from multi-tasking as much as possible. He maintained that time anxiety is learned and that busyness is a burden on our lives.
An interesting statistic that he shared with us was that 12000 to 50000 thoughts cross our minds per day, making it difficult to hear "the still small voice of God." That requires downtime to "focus..., reflect and de-busy." So Richard power naps - 20-30 minutes per day while sitting in his bedroom "prayer" chair. It's here that he works out solutions, relaxes and prays. His wife's calmness and approach to life is much appreciated and he is an avid student of that approach.
Four generations, four views of busyness and four ways of living.
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