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Do you ever feel like you're losing yourself in your calendar? Is your day-to-day life a series of checking off boxes but never quite getting caught up? Are you just too busy? In this episode we'll talk about how we can release ourselves from the slavery of busyness and live in a way that embraces margin and makes room for the holy.
Personal Reflection and Small Group Questions
“When I ask people how they are, what they are doing or creating with their life, how they are using their precious time, their heart’s best attention. Their response is invariably the same: I am just trying to get caught up… When I hear this now familiar refrain, I cannot help but ask gently, ‘Caught up to what?’”
“Our whirlwind of fearful rush and hurry saturates our days with the feeling that we are already somehow inexplicably behind before we ever make in out of the house, even before we get out of bed.”~Wayne Muller, A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough
Can you relate to the feeling of being behind or overwhelmed with everything you have to do before you even start your day? If so, can you name why that is?
Lindsey talked about being so busy at times that she felt like she was “losing herself in her calendar”? How have you experienced this?
We said that sometimes we can use busyness as an avoidance tactic (to avoid a difficult situation or relationship, to avoid stillness, to avoid self-reflection, etc.). Have you ever noticed yourself doing this?
Have you ever noticed that your busyness is a result of an attempt to prove you’re “enough” or a desire to achieve?
We said that work without rest is a big problem. How good are you at creating margin and rest into your days?
“Jesus lived a rhythm completely different from anyone around him. The rhythm of his life was itself a prophetic act against the rhythms of the world.” ~A.J. Swoboda, Subversive Sabbath
Have you ever considered the fact that Jesus always had full days and many things going on, but he never lost himself in that busyness?
How would you describe your pacing? Do you pay attention to your heart, mind, and soul and consider the pace they need instead of the pace in which your mind can keep up?
Self-Evaluation Questions:
- Am I able to nurture my relationships? Is anyone in my sphere suffering in any way because of my busyness, my hectic way of living? (Spouse, children, friends, co-workers, etc.)
- What is my body saying about how over-worked, overwhelmed, burned out I am?
Resources Mentioned:
A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough, by Wayne Muller
Subversive Sabbath, by A.J. Swoboda
Thanks for listening to the Embodied Holiness Podcast. We invite you to join the community on Facebook and Instagram @embodiedholiness.
Embodied Holiness is a ministry of Parkway Heights United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, MS. If you're in the Hattiesburg area and are looking for a church home, we'd love to meet you and welcome you to the family. You can find out more about Parkway Heights at our website.
