A week ago I lay in bed and listened to Thought for the Day, given by Vicky Beeching. As usual she was very down-to-earth. She was talking about our culture of success and activity, and quoted Henri Nouwen: "Being busy has become a status symbol."
"Nouwen suggests that instead of assuming time is simply there to be filled, we should purposefully leave some of it open. Unplanned. Unstructured. Available for spontaneity and imagination. He argues that by adding this into our lives, we become more flexible, compassionate and present.
"When every minute is scheduled to the hilt, interruptions are annoying. But by building in a margin of flexibility, we’re able to make time and space for others. Nouwen argues that when we do that, what previously would have seemed like 'interruptions' may turn out to be our most meaningful opportunities of the day – the chance to show hospitality to an unexpected visitor, to stop and help a lost person on the street, or just notice the beauty in the world around us.
"Of course time-management and productivity have an important place in our lives. But without balance they become unhealthy and unsustainable. In today’s society, leaving unstructured time in our schedules can feel like a countercultural act. Yet the rewards of renewed energy and imagination may make those times the most productive thing we do all week."
Now I'm inclined to fill my time, with social media, iPlayer, YouTube, music, reading and so on. That evening Jane read this verse to me where Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink’, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (John 4). And I had the picture of rows of drinks cans. It struck me that I'm prone to fill myself with cans of spiritual fizzy drink, rather than living water. And I'm under no illusions which is better for me, which is the stuff of life. So I'm going to try again to provide space to let in some living water - or perhaps let it in and out. Just to be quiet with God.
PS Today Vicky was even more challenging in her Thought this morning, which isn't yet on line.
