An Object In Motion
The Prague Astronomical Clock
Newton's First Law of Thermodynamics could have been the underlying theme of my childhood. The external force needed to set an object in motion was my father, and the object that tended to stay at rest was me.
Lazy was the term he often used to get me going. He knew it would burrow under my skin and propel me forward in a way no other motivating force could. I hated labels and this one was hurtful, even if it did manage to produce results.
To this day, I cringe when I hear someone use that word to describe another, especially when the other is a child. The positive affect it had on me, however, was a testament to Newton's Law. Once in motion, I tended to stay in motion.
Throughout my career, I kept busy and worked hard. Even when the work I was doing was menial, I sought ways to improve the process, change the methods, adopt new techniques, and learn new technologies. As a result, I filled the time with busy-ness. When I lost my job in 2007, much of that activity came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly, the things that had been so important were gone. There were no deadlines to keep me awake at night, no status reports to be updated and no one making demands on my time. The clock had stopped. Time had stilled. But that old motivator was anything but quiet.
Having no demands on my time is a bad thing. I am easily distracted, even when I have things to do, so imagine how far afield my mind can wander when I have no structure to work within. To avoid the curse of laziness, I filled my days with my new work - preparing for interviews, searching for jobs, talking to contacts, attending networking meetings. But that wasn't enough. There was still time left at the end of that new work day, so I started helping others with whatever they needed done.
It didn't pay well, but it kept me busy. What was missing was an understanding of where it was all headed. To help with that, I devoted an hour a day, early in the morning, to the daily selection of Scripture readings in The Daily Office. For example, one of the readings for today's morning prayer is from the Book of Isaiah and it includes the passage:
All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know. And so they will be put to shame. - Isaiah 44:9
The readings each morning accomplished something that I had previously thought impossible. They slowed me down, while keeping me active. In other words, during the hour of reading and reflecting on what I had read, time stood still. In that stillness, I was neither doing nothing, nor was I busy. In that stillness, I began to hear myself think and I began to believe there could be a different path for me. More on that, tomorrow.
Be still, and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:9