Modern Life

The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation in violence. --Thomas Merton, Trappist monk

 When we are clear in our thinking ~ when we are reasonable and reasoned, our lives are filled with care. Our time is measured by moments of doing and moments of being. We have the capacity to flow into and  out of sync with the rest of the world around us.

Merton's comment about the rush and pressure of modern life being a form of violence is startling. Our culture demands a life that is filled with flying here and driving there and biking somewhere and .... There is a constant flurry of motion, only some of which actually accomplishes something of value. Yet, yet.... when we find ourselves simply moving from one task to another, from one cause to another, even doing 'good deeds', we often do not have or take enough time to focus our energy. Then it scatters to the four winds and leaves us less than we were before with nothing to show for all our work.

What do you do to take care of yourself? How do you participate in violence to yourself?