I attended college in the very beautiful state of Kentucky. It took some time to get use to the slower pace of living in the south. When I first arrived, my friends asked of me often, “What’s the rush? You do everything fast, you talk fast, walk fast, eat fast, even drive fast…” To the Southerner, I, the Yankee was always rushing. There was an expression in the south, that if an appointment was at two o’clock, it really means that the person was leaving their house at 2! I must admit that once I got use to living the slower pace of life; it is the only way to live. We do rush things here in the northeast.
The rush of life struck me during vacation. Right after the 4th of July, Staples had their ‘Back to School Sale” commercials. The kids weren’t even out of school for two weeks, and we are talking back to school. Flannel shirts along with the fall fashion collection is on display, and then to make matters worse, I saw my first skeleton and pumpkins for Halloween! It’s not even August, and we are getting ready for Halloween! I guess we will see Santa in September.
What’s the rush? Why do we run non-stop around the clock, constantly checking the time or our phone scrambling for more time? Why do we rush from one place to another, checking things off our “to do” lists? Our future-absorbed mentality and the acute need to get there quickly and do as much as we can are deeply embedded into our culture and mentality. Every day feels like there is one less hour in the day.
We were told that the new technology was to give us more time for ourselves; they lied! There are more distractions and things that waste our time. Who can really ever finish reading all the posts on their Facebook page, or Instagram, or Twitter, not to mention watching TikTok?
Our rushing to the future is limited, we want the near-future things seen and achieved, but what about the real future—eternity? We are rushing to the grave. Are we ready to see God and finally rest from our life of good works, our life of faith and loving service? Until then if we just live for the present, we would spiritually, physically, emotionally be better off. So,
· Experience nature with your senses and take a walk. Smell the flowers and the air; stand with the sunshine on your back; close your eyes and taste the food. And then praise and thank God for His creation and the world that He created for us. Being in nature is the way that we can rest and relax with God. · Read the Bible or other spiritual books. Immerse yourself in God’s word, and the spiritual world. · Turn off the lights and just sit in darkness and talk to God. Taking away sight and sound helps us to feel closer to God.
Take time to just be with God at least once a day. We all need to relax and just be! When I returned home from the south, I kept asking, “What’s the rush?”
We cordially welcome Sr. Martha Lopez to St. Margaret’s this weekend. Sister will speak at all the Masses regarding the important work of the Propagation of the Faith. There will be a special second collection for the missionary work of the Church.