This was in my e-mail this morning and just too good not to pass on.

Instant gratification and the Dark Side

The things that matter in a bad life, we know, are: gaining power over others, accumulating as much stuff as you can, getting revenge on your enemies (who are everywhere), and drugging yourself one way or another to forget the pain of not quite being human. Gene Logsdon Sloooooooow doooown. Be still, and wait. Chuck Girard

I overheard this telephone conversation in an airport.
A young man, maybe age 30, shouts into his cell phone, in a clearly agitated voice, right arm gesticulating to no one in particular, "Hey! Why didn't you return my call? I texted you. Like twenty minutes ago."

Ahhh, the trials and tribulations of modern life. Not to mention the poignant inconvenience of having too many technically-challenged-friends.

I did smile when I walked by our young impatient friend, but I certainly claim no moral high road. I know whereof his vexation ferments. I too have swallowed the modern insistence for speed, instantaneous feedback and a disdain for wasted time. I know his feeling of agitation and restlessness. I know what it feels like to shout (into a phone or into the air), my voice put out and disgruntled, and to feel, literally, kindness, patience, compassion, and good-will-to-all-people, leaching out of my soul. And oddly, it feels oh so good. . .in the way six-cups-of-coffee feels good. Wired, teed off, on pins-and-needles, irritable, ready to conquer the world and take names, but with no idea where to begin, or why. It's the Spiderman III syndrome. The parasite that becomes the black suit, which brings out the very worst of what is inside us.

Peter Parker: Eddie, it's the suit. You've got to take it off.
Eddie Brock: Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't ya? [in the suit, turning into "Venom"]
Peter Parker: I've been there, Eddie. The power; it feels good. But you'll lose yourself to it. It'll destroy you. Take the suit off Eddie, it's not too late!
Venom: ["Thinking" about it before masking up] Nah... I like being bad. It makes me... happy...

I'm just wondering. . .How did an unanswered phone message morph into a personal grievance? And when did our demand for instant gratification become a requirement for a life well lived?

Plato said, a long time ago, "What is honored in a country will be cultivated there."Much of what we honor (by our time, our focus, our energy, our priorities) is not conscious. We absorb these assumptions and they become a part of our life, a part of our "reality." We assume that. . .Busyness is a virtue and a sign of importance.

Time spent waiting is wasted time.

Empty space must be filled.

Going anyplace without a cell phone (or a way to be reached) is inconsiderate. (I've been curious: how many email messages-or SPAM-did Jesus have to sort through after his 40 days in the desert?)

Newer is ideal, and bigger is preferred.
Multi-tasking is a spiritual gift.
Rich people are those with money, and no time.
Poor people are those with no money, and lots of time.

Call waiting is essential because the person calling me may be more important than the person I am speaking with now.

Technology is the easy whipping boy here. But that's not the point. The truth is that my insistence on speed (instant gratification) removes me from my self, and from the present. And I wear this obsession like the black suit. I am restless, agitated, intolerant, annoyed, disconcerted, on edge. . .and not present. And then I wonder; how did I get myself into this pickle? What have I been honoring here? And, if we absorb (or honor) these things without reflection, how can we change?

In the Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker learns from Yoda.
Yoda: Yes, run! Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.
Luke: (Darth) Vader... Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.
Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?
Yoda: You will know... when you are calm, at peace, passive.

I know this: I can't be calm or at peace or present if my multi-tasking juices are flowing, and I abhor any delay, and I need to fill any vacuum. So the first step is to stop. To take a deep breath. And to let it out very, very slowly. And then ask, "what am I honoring here?"I haven't thrown my cell phone away. Not yet. I might get a really important call. But I did turn it off for the afternoon. That's a start.

Poems / Prayers

Slow Down
In the midst of my confusion
In the time of desperate need
When I am thinking not too clearly
A gentle voice does intercede

Slow down, slow down, be still
Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord
Slow down and hear His voice
And know that He is God

In the time of tribulation
When I'm feeling so unsure
When things are pressing in about me
Comes a gentle voice so still, so pure

Slow down, slow down, be still
Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord
Slow down and hear His voice
And know that He is God
And know that He is God
Chuck Girard ©1974 Dunamis Music

The Lord is my Pace-Setter, I shall not rush.
He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,
He provides me with images of stillness,which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind,
And His guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,
I will not fret, for His presence is here.
His timelessness, His all-importance will keep me in balance,
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity.
By anointing my mind with His oils of tranquility,
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,
For I shall walk in the place of my Lord, and dwell in His house forever.
Amen.
~Author Unknown~

Peace, Terry Hershey