Thoughts on trying to stick to the 40-hour work week

Thoughts from Susan Classen's Dewdrops on Spiderwebs:

*Are we addicted to the thrill of the extraordinary?

*I carry quiet in my soul. I get so wound up I forget peace is there, patiently awaiting my recognition.
In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused. (Isaiah 30:15)

*I can’t do it all; I can’t fill my life full of experiences and still have time to find the meaning in them. I must resist my tendency to fill my life full. Emptiness gives space to the yearning which lies dormant and neglected – a yearning only God can fulfil. If our lives are filled full – they aren’t fulfilled.
We had the experience, but missed the meaning. (T.S. Eliot)

*Faith and action are fundamentally unified. They do not need to be integrated – for they are already one.

...and my thoughts:

Being still and quiet and slowing my pace in life is quite difficult. I only live once – I want to experience it all and do it all. I want to continue my successful life where I receive praise and compliments from those around me for what I’m doing. I love to be active and participating in groups and organisations working for good in the world – I’ve been given gifts and talents and I want to use them.

But I do fear burnout – a place I’ve been before. And I dream of living a life which has SPACE for conversations, gardening, smelling daffodils, and hearing birds’ songs beyond the sirens – I dream of a life which has TIME for people and for God.

I’m not sure where my balance is. I fight against feelings of laziness and selfish ‘stewardship’ when I say ‘no’ to good and meaningful things.

I want to live a life of humble integrity which rejoices in the love of God and seeks to be a witness of love in the world. This means seeking an active yet contemplative harmony with creation – including the complexities of humanity. I seek to be recreated in the image of God which does not heed the temptations of a world which chooses separation from God.