This week I've been hit by a few thoughts about the generation of which I am a part. As technology advances, we learn how to make more and more shortcuts and we can get things quicker than ever. It's funny how I find myself frustrated when the internet kicks us off every now and then when a few years ago we had to unplug the phone line before we could even hook up to it. There's an 'app' for everything that supposedly makes everything more convenient and instantaneous. But then we hit a brick wall.
When we have to wait for something, we truly can't do it. We freak out, we get frustrated, we lose our temper and we give up. In Tesco today, I was in no rush but I changed queues about 3 times to find the shortest one. I hate waiting to get served at a bar. When I need a quick response from someone it completely stresses me out when they don't reply for an hour. But then I find myself wrestling with this impatient nature. With things such as baking and cooking, I always prefer to do it from scratch. I sincerely dislike cheating and will only do it if I truly have to. I will not bow to the convenience of a ready meal and will only have one in dire need. I prefer resting my mixing bowl on my hip and mixing the butter and sugar together myself than relying on an electric mixer to do it for me. I am pretty sure I could do life sans microwave and will always opt to use the hob if at all possible even though it creates more washing up (I hate washing up.) But what has happened now that I am being asked to put my patience to the test - I am freaking out.
In all honesty, I expected to breeze out of Uni and pick up a cosy little job that would allow me to rent a nice flat that I could adorn with the floral items from my accumulated 'bottom drawer' that has admittedly turned into a 'bottom wardrobe' that means I have no room to hang up my clothes. Woops. Anyway, I would say at least 30 job applications and no clothing space later, I am still without employment and my own little floral palace. Needless to say, I am not impressed. The job centre told me it's probably because 'I'm over-qualified.' Oh isn't that lovely to hear after you busted your guts to finish your degree?! It seems as if every door I push is closed, and it's very difficult to keep it up without losing hope! I of course, have no choice but to keep on spending hours filling in application after application and hoping that ONE of them will be picked up by someone, anyone who will give me a job. Of course, I have not sat on my sofa all day watching Jeremy Kyle. I have found myself being busier than ever but the frustration is that without employment - I am not planted somewhere. I long to be tied to a place, even if for a time so that I know what I can commit myself to.
That is the next thing that I have learnt about our generation. We hate commitment. We flit in and out of things, we don't like to be tied down to a place because we need the freedom to move around. We wouldn't enter a career expecting it to be lifelong. We wouldn't think about finding a job that offers a good pension - because we think first about what the job is offering us now. We can worry about what happens when we reach 70 (as I would imagine the average retirement age, if there will be one, will have grown substantially by the time we reach it.) Apparently, I will retire in 2055. That sounds like a ridiculous year, by which I expect to be able to catch a reasonably priced flight to space and back.
Not only this, but when it comes to relationships, we are afraid. We're afraid to commit in case we get hurt. What if we pick the wrong person? What if someone better comes along? It's easier to be alone because that doesn't take any work. We'd like a relationship to land on our lap otherwise we will have to make ourselves vulnerable and take a risk. Nah, I'd rather not. But what happens in a few years time when we have a bunch of girls ready to commit and a bunch of guys who are too scared to? What happens when everything at work is happening too slowly for us so we get bored and leave and wave bye bye to whatever pension package we might have had instead of trying to change our job to make it better? I worry about where we're headed. I worry about how much we worry.
We need to re-learn the art of waiting. We need to learn to commit ourselves to a task and see it through, even if it takes longer than we expected. We need to work at our relationships instead of running away from them when they get hard and we need to make the most of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We need to slow down and remember what the important things are in life, because it flies by in such a blur. We need to be content with doing small things, making a small difference in one persons life instead of always trying to change the whole world. We need to work at our communities, say hi to our neighbours and being to rebuild the art of being with people. Social networks have meant that we are unable to build real relationships, we can say things on a computer that we could never say face to face. We need to learn to wait for a response. We need to wait for things to happen in the right time instead of in an instant.
You know, as well as this season being the most annoying and frustrating one I have been in, for the most part I have never been so content. I realise that through this, my character is building. My patience is growing as is my trust and excitement for the future. I am learning to appreciate what I have instead of chasing what I dont have/want. I realise what I need to do life. I have learnt loads of yummy recipes which will come in handy for future dinner parties/family meals. I am learning to enjoy the small blessings that I see everyday and I am saying 'no' to things which is leading to more wise decisions. My boundaries are strong and I recognise that I need time for myself to relax and unwind which in turn means I am more able to spend time with friends, family and with those who need a friendly face.
If we become so caught up in our busy lives and in our busy selves then we miss out on our main purpose. In the book I've just read, Christine Caine writes:
When we have to wait for something, we truly can't do it. We freak out, we get frustrated, we lose our temper and we give up. In Tesco today, I was in no rush but I changed queues about 3 times to find the shortest one. I hate waiting to get served at a bar. When I need a quick response from someone it completely stresses me out when they don't reply for an hour. But then I find myself wrestling with this impatient nature. With things such as baking and cooking, I always prefer to do it from scratch. I sincerely dislike cheating and will only do it if I truly have to. I will not bow to the convenience of a ready meal and will only have one in dire need. I prefer resting my mixing bowl on my hip and mixing the butter and sugar together myself than relying on an electric mixer to do it for me. I am pretty sure I could do life sans microwave and will always opt to use the hob if at all possible even though it creates more washing up (I hate washing up.) But what has happened now that I am being asked to put my patience to the test - I am freaking out.
In all honesty, I expected to breeze out of Uni and pick up a cosy little job that would allow me to rent a nice flat that I could adorn with the floral items from my accumulated 'bottom drawer' that has admittedly turned into a 'bottom wardrobe' that means I have no room to hang up my clothes. Woops. Anyway, I would say at least 30 job applications and no clothing space later, I am still without employment and my own little floral palace. Needless to say, I am not impressed. The job centre told me it's probably because 'I'm over-qualified.' Oh isn't that lovely to hear after you busted your guts to finish your degree?! It seems as if every door I push is closed, and it's very difficult to keep it up without losing hope! I of course, have no choice but to keep on spending hours filling in application after application and hoping that ONE of them will be picked up by someone, anyone who will give me a job. Of course, I have not sat on my sofa all day watching Jeremy Kyle. I have found myself being busier than ever but the frustration is that without employment - I am not planted somewhere. I long to be tied to a place, even if for a time so that I know what I can commit myself to.
That is the next thing that I have learnt about our generation. We hate commitment. We flit in and out of things, we don't like to be tied down to a place because we need the freedom to move around. We wouldn't enter a career expecting it to be lifelong. We wouldn't think about finding a job that offers a good pension - because we think first about what the job is offering us now. We can worry about what happens when we reach 70 (as I would imagine the average retirement age, if there will be one, will have grown substantially by the time we reach it.) Apparently, I will retire in 2055. That sounds like a ridiculous year, by which I expect to be able to catch a reasonably priced flight to space and back.
Not only this, but when it comes to relationships, we are afraid. We're afraid to commit in case we get hurt. What if we pick the wrong person? What if someone better comes along? It's easier to be alone because that doesn't take any work. We'd like a relationship to land on our lap otherwise we will have to make ourselves vulnerable and take a risk. Nah, I'd rather not. But what happens in a few years time when we have a bunch of girls ready to commit and a bunch of guys who are too scared to? What happens when everything at work is happening too slowly for us so we get bored and leave and wave bye bye to whatever pension package we might have had instead of trying to change our job to make it better? I worry about where we're headed. I worry about how much we worry.
We need to re-learn the art of waiting. We need to learn to commit ourselves to a task and see it through, even if it takes longer than we expected. We need to work at our relationships instead of running away from them when they get hard and we need to make the most of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We need to slow down and remember what the important things are in life, because it flies by in such a blur. We need to be content with doing small things, making a small difference in one persons life instead of always trying to change the whole world. We need to work at our communities, say hi to our neighbours and being to rebuild the art of being with people. Social networks have meant that we are unable to build real relationships, we can say things on a computer that we could never say face to face. We need to learn to wait for a response. We need to wait for things to happen in the right time instead of in an instant.
You know, as well as this season being the most annoying and frustrating one I have been in, for the most part I have never been so content. I realise that through this, my character is building. My patience is growing as is my trust and excitement for the future. I am learning to appreciate what I have instead of chasing what I dont have/want. I realise what I need to do life. I have learnt loads of yummy recipes which will come in handy for future dinner parties/family meals. I am learning to enjoy the small blessings that I see everyday and I am saying 'no' to things which is leading to more wise decisions. My boundaries are strong and I recognise that I need time for myself to relax and unwind which in turn means I am more able to spend time with friends, family and with those who need a friendly face.
If we become so caught up in our busy lives and in our busy selves then we miss out on our main purpose. In the book I've just read, Christine Caine writes:
'Jesus always stopped and noticed what was going on around Him. Although He was on a mission to save all of humanity, He was never too busy to notice the crippled man by the pool, the woman at the well, or the woman with the hemorrhage Even when He was on the way to somewhere else, Jesus was always prepared to be interrupted and to get involved in the lives of individual people whose paths He crossed.'
What's the point of all this if we can't give up our time anymore to notice and help those who need us? If we are always seeking to better ourselves, to work for that promotion, to do a bit more overtime then we begin to miss things. We lose the art of being because we get so caught up in doing. I suggest that we need to take a step back and look at where this is leading. We need to peel back the layers of Christianity and see what is at its core - and that, to me is loving God, our neighbour and ourselves. We need to appreciate the small stuff as much as the big stuff. We need to praise God in the mess as well as the tidy, in the plain sailing times as well as the everything all over the place times. We need to concentrate on the day that He has given us and live it here and now. We need to wait for His response in His timing as we have committed to follow His path.
But most of all, we need to slow down.
Much Love xxx
 |
| P.s I made my first pecan pie today. Isn't she CUTE! |
Post a Comment
Please feel free to add your comments here...