In a fast pace world it is very difficult to slow down and center ourselves. We are constantly running around getting from a to b, filling gaps of time in our busy schedules with more things to do and if by any chance we find ourselves idle, we feel uncomfortable and restless. Lets face it, we are a little obsessed with being busy.
This is not a new phenomenon however, so why blog about this? Well, I work with young adults at a parish mostly and one of their biggest challenges is the difficulty of praying because of the business of their lives. They have expressed this challenge in many ways. They talk about being bombarded with information all day, of school, work and all activities that keeps you busy throughout the day and entering in prayer seems difficult. Often, they talk of being accustomed to having your mind occupied on tasks and so prayer as the emptying of a doing-mind becomes impossible.
This message is counter-cultural and this is why is difficult. From the outside, scheduling prayer or finding the time to seat quietly might be perceived as wasted moment of valuable time of your day. When the young adults tell me that they have grown accustomed to a particular lifestyle, they are indeed expressing a sign of our times Our eyes are entertained through screens, I-pads, laptops, phones, television etc. Do you find it hard waiting for the elevator without taking out your phone? Perhaps waiting for the bus or train without checking the latest updates? Do you constantly put music to fill the silence of your room? Well, everything we do has become a response to some outside stimuli--I tell them. Being in silence and quiet brings aims at looking inside as oppose to outside. The introspection of being in silence allows you to deeply know yourself--and to listen to a God who speaks in the most inner part of yourself. A God who speaks in many ways, but only in silence can you listen.
The response is immediate to challenge this type of prayer. After all, prayer is very broad and seating in silence and reflection is only one vehicle. Is this type of prayer for all? Are some just not meant to seat quietly but meant to pray in a different way? They ask me. While an aspect of prayer is doing, this is not all prayer is. I tell them to bring their busy-schedules into prayer and that God is acting through the business of their lives but I also tell them that finding a moment to quiet the mind and centering yourself is crucial in a rich spiritual life.
While it is very important to enter into silence and quietness, finding the time for God it far more important. it is in fact easier for some to pray in silence and quietness--but for those who find it very difficult I tell them to first 'make a date' with God in their busy schedules and honor the time however they choose to do so. Prayer in fact is not restricted to one vehicle as they mention, but prayer does involve transformation. The intention to move away from a busy-life that does not allow us to listen to God should transform us. At the end, we tune off from a loud world for one purpose only, to listen. If we cannot hear anything with so much noise, then no transformation is possible.
Before they leave I tell them that prayer is not meant to be difficult. Prayer is a relationship. In our busy schedules we can find the time to keep the relationship barely alive, somewhat interesting, or deeply trans-formative. The difference is not in the amount of time in prayer, but in the quality of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment