detangling life (pt.2)
I imagine myself talking to someone else about simplifying life, and right away, I hear them saying, "Isn't that just a kind of escapism? Aren't we supposed to be engaging the world around us with the gospel?" Is a life of simplicity "escapism"? You stop doing so much. You say "No." to good things. You lose touch with some friends. You stay in with your family instead of going to see the latest 'culturally relevant' film. You can't "make a difference."
Sure, but how many of the "many things" that constitute our busy-ness do we do well? What if an integrated life (which is one part of what I mean when I talk about simplicity) is one part of embodying the life of the age to come? So what if I escape certain things so that I may be fully present and engaged in a few important things?
Understand that it is my better self that is pulling the rest of me toward this. I am often restless when I am at home. I want to go do things and watch films and hang out in the cafe. But when I have submitted to the Spirit's direction to stay home and spend a quiet night doing 'nothing' with Torie (because she is the one through whom the Spirit spoke), I find great resonance with Foster's experience: "I had touched the margin of simplicity, and the effect was electrifying."
More, please. And less, please, too.
Sure, but how many of the "many things" that constitute our busy-ness do we do well? What if an integrated life (which is one part of what I mean when I talk about simplicity) is one part of embodying the life of the age to come? So what if I escape certain things so that I may be fully present and engaged in a few important things?
Understand that it is my better self that is pulling the rest of me toward this. I am often restless when I am at home. I want to go do things and watch films and hang out in the cafe. But when I have submitted to the Spirit's direction to stay home and spend a quiet night doing 'nothing' with Torie (because she is the one through whom the Spirit spoke), I find great resonance with Foster's experience: "I had touched the margin of simplicity, and the effect was electrifying."
More, please. And less, please, too.
posted by joel at 8:40 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah, it takes vigilance to remember that the disciplines are not the goal--nor is a spiritual experience. The goal is to become the kind of person who easily and naturally cooperates with God's work in God's world--including changing diapers, dressing wounds, listening to others, serving tables, and resting from your work.
Thanks for your thoughts. I was just thinking about that tension on my way home today.
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