“Nothing works unless you do,” wrote Maya Angelou. Now that is something I believe. My father was a work-aholic. Farmers are often wired that way and, like my father, I have held faith and placed value in an ethic of hard work since I was a little girl and have pursued challenging professional and philanthropic endeavors.
I’ve had time off from my regular congregational schedule this summer and find it very difficult to spend time “unproductively.” Habits are habits. Make lists. Get things done. Stay busy. Don’t nap. Although I am drawn to the contemplative life and want to keep Sabbath, I am afraid of wasting time. I envy people who can loll about. I also want to tell them to get up and get cracking.
Spiritual teaching from most cultures lifts up the value of rest, of sitting, of being still and quiet. Neuroscientists tell us this is where deep learning and creativity are born. Even knowing this, I usually just feel guilty. I don’t want to feel guilty, but I’ve spent a lifetime repeating this response. Habits.
This summer a few things have happened to break habitual behaviors and force an unplanned slow down. A fractured ankle. A totaled car. I even got a virus and had fever for a week. This is not how I planned to spend my summer renewal, but I may be the better for the shift.
You’ve no doubt seen movies where a ranking officer tells a private, “At ease” and then must repeat, “I said ‘at ease!’” This summer feels a little like that as I get the message over and over and over.
I’m not at ease being at leisure, so I’m still making lists and keeping busy. I have, however, looked a little more kindly on my opportunities for lolling about. Judeo-Christian teaching includes both “Be still, and know that I am God” and “Let us provoke one another to love and good works.”
Summer is the perfect season to allow these truths to simmer together. Hard work alone doesn’t yield a harvest, as every farmer knows. Good seed, fertile ground, the balance of sunshine and rain, and ample time are all elements essential for bounty.
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life
Swinging between the swelter and the showers of our Central Texas summer, it is my hope we all find the balance of work and play that fills us with energy to tackle the opportunities and challenges of this growing region. Together, we can build community across our community and plant a finer future for us all.
