“Speed, ironically, is so often a symptom of total immobility.” -David Whyte in Crossing the Unknown Sea – Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
Most of the individuals I coach are suffering from the effects of speed – the soul-sucking drug of the 21st Century. The danger of this drug is the fact that it is an intangible substance. This however does not stop it from being trafficked. It is distributed everyday by almost everyone of us.
I talk to individuals each week who, when it comes to their own direction, seem to be frozen – their specific brand of immobility a result of an unconscious addiction to speed. The distribution of this intangible drug has its tangible manifestations – as when we ask someone if they’ve been busy.
“Hey Jeff, good to see you. How’s business? Have you been busy?” Of course I answer, “Yes” – even if I’m not at the moment. You see, to not be busy is …
And that’s the point. What is it to not be busy, at least not busy all the time? Is it bad?
There are times when we are busy doing the most important things to us as individuals … and doing the most important things for those we are called to serve. And then there are the stretches of time when we are busy doing things that are, well, just activity. When this category of activity infests our time, we become immobile.
To be immobile is to deny self. This is not a self-denial that puts others first; it’s a condition that serves no one.
Speed is judgment – when an individual reduces their own value, and that of others, based on unfocused busyness.
Jeff,
Thanks for the reminder! I am glad I stopped being “busy” just long enough to enjoy reading your blog for the moment. It really does make a difference when we focus our “busyness” on what is really important, instead of just being filled with mindless activity.
I have also found that just because you are good at doing something, doesn’t mean you are to consume your life with doing it. There is a fine balance between “doing” and “being”.
Thanks again for your word of caution on this! I really needed to hear it today.
Sincerely,
Keith
Jeff,
Very insightful.
What’s my ‘own direction’? What are ‘the most important things’? I think I need a personal retreat of some sort to think through and refocus on these questions!
I think I could be an excellent ‘Tim’ but right now I feel like a rather mediocre someone else.
Keep prodding us.
Tim
[...] There is however a sadness present. I live in a beautiful part of the country – the Appalachian Mountain Region. On several of the routes we travel, there are signs warning of rock slides and much creative construction is done to prevent a slide from covering a section of road and possibly injuring travelers. Unfortunately there is no department looking after the highway on which our voice travels. Therefore, many a voice has been silenced by the rock slides of 21st Century busyness. [...]