The Fast and the Vicious

Our manic pace makes us too fast to be holy. When addicted to the "Rush" we starve ourselves of Grace.

This’ll be quick! Relax, don’t click away. Don’t swipe up! I promise I’ll get to the point in under thirty seconds….please stop and settle in!…

Smelling what I’m cooking yet?

“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and
a striving after wind.”
-Ecclesiastes 4:6

We move too fast. Some of us more than others. We move faster than reality does, and the human order is always trying to move/act/react/shift as fast as our minds can think thoughts and ideas—which is impossible, so we wind up tripping over our own momentary ambitions. If you’ve ever been frustrated by the slowness of your super-computer smartphone, you know what I mean.

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But a manic pace brings another risk that we rarely connect—an attitude that leans toward sin, aware from virtue, or both. Virtue lives in the tranquil, but vice flourishes in mania.

When we’re moving too fast physically, spiritually, mentally, we’re chasing after a thrill of some kind. It may be the thrill of accomplishing a task, achieving a goal, or getting to that next level that brings us closer to a victory that doesn’t matter as much as we believe it does.

A picture speaks a thousand words—Or none at all

And when reality—or the people around us—can’t keep up with our manic inner and outer pace, we become inclined to substitute that thrill with another one. For me, it’s anger. I get angry when I’m interrupted or pulled away from my goal (which is literally happening right now—give me a minute...).

Okay. So I didn’t lose my temper that time, but that’s because I discipline myself to stay calm when I’m pulled away from something I’m focusing on. In the past, I’d get angry when deprived of the “high” of working toward a goal—whatever it was—and I’d seek a substitute thrill by expressing that frustration somehow.

Or we might reach our goal, only to immediately chase another—skipping any time to reflect, to pray, to call an old friend, or to spend extra time with family.

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust
shall be your strength.”
-Isaiah 30:15

This cycle of absurdity stirs us, interiorly. We become manic on the inside and produce a spiritual atmosphere that’s not only not conducive to prayer, reflection, or a connection to and awareness of the life of God within us, but tends to invite a desire for the gratification that can only be achieved by sin—whether venial or mortal.

I think we’re holier when we slow down. When we don’t race up the stairs for no reason, when we’re calm in our speech, when we approach everything with ease and calm—assuming urgency isn’t necessary—I believe we almost become a “someone else.” When we slow down, we see things a little differently; we have time to process, to react or respond with greater temperance or prudence. And we get to “stop and smell the flowers,” and enjoy the smallest things in the most ordinary moments of our life.

Now put down the smartphone for an hour, and see what happens.

How much does this apply to you, and why? What are your thoughts about this? I’d love, love love to hear from you in a comment. Tap Like if you enjoyed this. Don’t forget to subscribe, and be a part of this adventure!

“Be still, and know that I am God.”
-Psalm 46:10