We’re now headed into what is known as the Holiday Season. It’s almost always a fast paced, hurried, frenzied, time of year. But this year I’m dead set on slowing down and enjoying every minute of it.
Our culture often thinks that busyness is actually a status symbol. It is strange that when people have so much, they are so anxious about not having enough—
to do,
to see,
to own,
to control.
How is it that we have more time saving devices than ever before, but none of us seem to have more time?
Richard Rohr wrote:
Time is exactly what we do not have. What decreases in a culture of affluence is precisely and strangely time— along with wisdom and friendship. These are the very things that the human heart was created for, that the human heart feeds on and lives for. No wonder we are producing so many depressed, unhealthy and even violent people . . .
So, I’m going into this Christmas season ready to make some tough decisions. I’m practicing some tough phrases like . . .
“No thank you.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to say no.”
“Maybe next year.”
“Not a chance.”
It’s never easy for me to let people down, but there are a lot more important things than trying to make everyone happy (we all know that’s impossible anyway). I’m looking forward to getting to the other side of this Christmas and looking back with less regret than normal.
How are you doing at protecting your time?
