The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
Part three: Practices for unhurrying your life
Slowing (4|4)
Pages 239-244
TOGETHER read the book and then the following scripture slowly and attentively.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hosea 10:12 (NIV) Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
GROUP DISCUSSION:
Share just one or two things that stood out to you while reading the book and/or scripture. (try to keep it brief)
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
The last four rules (again, call them boundaries if that makes you feel better about them) are a challenge to take something up, put it into place/practice, and create a habit and/or rhythm.
17. Take up journaling.
18. Experiment with mindfulness and meditation.
19. If you can, take long vacations.
20. Cook your own food. And eat in.
We can combat hurry by intentionally slowing. Mindfulness and meditation practices are very effective. The practice of “watching” your breath go in and out is not some new age yoga hippy dippy crystal licking garbage. It is centering on the gifts of the spirit. Try practicing it now:
Get into a comfortable position. Normally you would close your eyes but if you did that now you wouldn’t be able to read and follow along ;)
Imagine yourself breathing IN the fruit Holy Spirit and breathing OUT their opposite.
Breathe in love, breathe out the anger…
Breathe in joy, breathe out the sadness and pain…
Breathe in peace, breathe out the anxiety and uncertainty of tomorrow…
Breathe in patience, breathe out the hurry of life…
How did that go for you?
Was it awkward and uncomfortable or helpful or meh?
Try it again and really take your time with it. If it still feels weird or foreign that is okay. It’s not for everyone but it can be helpful for many.
John Mark Comer says In meditation of the Hebrew/Jesus variety (Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV) Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers. you don’t just empty your mind (of the noise, chaos, anxiety, etc.), but you fill your mind with Scripture, with truth, with the voice of the Holy Spirit.
What is your response to this statement?
Is it hard to get past the images of secular meditation? Do you think of yoga instrutors and hinduism when you think of meditation? If so think about this: All the way back in Joshua 1:8 (NIV) Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. That’s a long time before the secularized version we have today. I think it’s time to reclaim words whose definitions the secular world has hijacked, don’t you?
What does meditating on the scriptures look like for you?
What does meditating on the Truth look like for you?
EXTRA READING:
“Life in community is no less than a necessity for us - it is an inescapable ‘must’ that determines everything we do and think. Yet it is not our good intentions or efforts that have been decisive in our choosing this way of life. Rather, we have been overwhelmed by a certainty - a certainty that has its origin and power in the Source of everything that exists. We acknowledge God as this Source. We must live in community because all life created by God exists in a communal order and works toward community.”
- Eberhard Arnold (1883 - 1935)
During the Reformation, some believed that Luther and Calvin did not go far enough in recovering the radical spirit of Christianity, namely regarding the Christian attitude toward violence and personal property. These Radical Reformers stressed community, simplicity, and an uncompromising commitment to gospel nonviolence. They suffered persecution from Protestants and Catholics alike, and their spirit took root in such communities as the Hutterites and Mennonites, which continue to this day. Eberhard and Emmy Arnold drew on this tradition centuries later in the midst of Nazi Germany. They started a community called the Bruderhof (“house of brothers”), whose ethic was the Sermon on the Mount. Their presence was a prophetic critique of the nationalism and militarism of Nazi Germany and of the Christianity that was silent amid such evil. In November 1933 their community was taken over by the Gestapo and they fled. Eberhard died in 1935 and Emmy (1884 - 1980) lived on for forty-five more years, helping start many other communities. Their lives and writings have inspired many communities, and their witness has touched people around the world.