by Joan C Webb on July 23, 2010
“To love life is to love time. Time is the stuff life is made of.” This quote from Benjamin Franklin intrigues me. Living in harmony with time. Agreeing not to compete against time. Becoming friends with time. What a relief-filled possibility!
A colleague surprised me recently when she said, “I’m in the process of changing my philosophy about time and work—and beginning to think that maybe fulfillment and success are not found in keeping my nose to the grindstone every minute. I’ve decided to try to be a bit easier on myself—to take breaks, to pause and talk with fellow workers and to rest when appropriate. However, I admit I feel extremely uncomfortable about this. Am I doing the right thing?”
Perhaps God allows finite human beings (that’s you and me!) to live within the confines of time to protect us from anxiety overload and burnout. Changing our concept of time as a slave driver or tyrant (or wet blanket) to that of a friend may help us become more peaceful and content. Wouldn’t that be a refreshing way to live?
And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again (Phil. 1:6, NLT).
Lord,
Thanks for the safety of time limitations.
Keep reminding me that no is not a naughty word.
I let go of my need to do everything and serve everyone.
I’m trusting that You’ll finish in me what You’ve started.
I wrote the above message about TIME several years ago (it appears on page 141 of The Relief of Imperfection.) And I journaled about this personal “aha” several years before that. When I read it again today, it felt new. Just another reminder that I’m on an ongoing journey of life as a “recovering” workaholic (or action-addict or over-doer, whatever you want to call it!)
What about you? How do you feel about TIME?
by Joan C Webb on July 15, 2010
I’m Not Crazy
Overwork makes for restless sleep. Ecclesiastes 5:3, THE MESSAGE
Am I making too much of culture’s bigger-better-more-faster craze? I didn’t think so, but I wanted verification. “The world is now producing nearly two exabytes of new and unique information per year,” writes Kevin A. Miller, author of Surviving Information Overload. “Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what an exabyte is. No one does. It’s a new term, one they had to coin for a billion gigabytes.” Miller maintains that “there are 260,000 billboards, 11,520 newspapers, 11,556 periodicals, 27,000 video outlets, 40,000 new book titles, and 60,000,000,000 pieces of junk mail every year” for us to choose from, read, compare, manage and heed.1
An emergent group of “information environmentalists” states that their objective is to reclaim mental respite from the constant barrage of cell phones, personal digital assistants, instant messaging, email, specialized cable channels and massive amounts of news, entertainment and sales pitches.2 “It feels to me that as a result of the high speed at which we’re operating . . . we’re kind of numbing ourselves. Just trying to get by,” says Dr. David Levy, professor at University of Washington’s Information School and researcher at a think-tank that created the personal computer and laser printer.3
So I’m not crazy when I get the gut-sickening sensation that I’ll never catch up! I won’t. Nobody can. Thus, begone unnecessary guilt! I’m headed for fewer sleepless nights, trying to figure out how to get it all done.
Lord, I can’t maneuver through this over-the-top mania alone. We’re a team and I’m grateful. That’s enough for me today.
What’s your take on this information? Do you ever feel like you’ll never get it all done?
[Adapted from It's a Wonderful (Imperfect) Life.] http://tinyurl.com/DevoBook
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