Finished Reading “Heretics”

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  "G. K. Chesterton, the "Prince of Paradox," is at his witty best in this collection of twenty essays and articles from the turn of the twentieth century. Focusing on  "heretics" - those who pride themselves on their superiority to Christian views - Chesterton appraises prominent figures who fall into that category from the literary and art worlds... those who hold incomplete and inadequate views about "life, the universe, and everything." He is, in short, criticizing all that host of non-Christian views of reality, as he demonstrated in his follow-up book Orthodoxy. The book is both an easy read and a difficult read. But he manages to demonstrate, among other things, that our new 21st century heresies are really not new because he himself deals with most of them." (Goodreads)

Why So Busy?

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"For love of bustle is not industry – it is only the restlessness of a hunted mind." 
(Seneca, Letter 3)

I'll be the first to admit that it's difficult to relax. I often feel like I need to be doing something all the time--but what does all that busy-ness reveal? It only shows I am "driven" not "driving." Ponder that for a second.

Seneca's simple instruction makes me realize how much stress I create for myself by keeping busy. What do I accomplish by wearing myself out? Even bread after all that kneading need to rest in order to grow, to produce. Even God rested after creation and we are far from anything divine.

When one inventories all that is on the mind, two categories become clear: what am I able to control (responsible for) and what I am NOT able to control. Once this distinction is made then half of what haunts the mind dissipates. One realizes that the other half does not have the urgency it seems, so that can be released as well.

Give yourself a break. There's no need to create conflict when there is none. You are not being hunted, so don't allow your mind to run as if you were. No need to create turbulence or difficult circumstances for yourself or for anyone else.


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