“Yet it is always easier for us to busy ourselves than to merely exist. Even important and useful work can distract us from remembering who we are, and what our deeper purpose might be. Monastic wisdom insists that when we are most tempted to feel bored, apathetic, and despondent over the meaninglessness of life we are on the verge of discovering our true self in relation to God. It is worth not giving up, because when we are willing to do nothing but ‘be,’ we meet the God who is the very ground of being, the great ‘I Am’ whom Moses encountered at the burning bush.” – Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me Acedia can tempt us to inaction, but we can also respond to it by busying ourselves so we don’t have to feel anything. But what if the invitation is instead to be present to what is—both in our worlds and in our selves? What would it look like to pause when you sense the listlessness of acedia, to lean in, to just “be” with the “I Am”—instead of trying to fight what you may see as laziness with more activity? What burning bushes might be awaiting your attentiveness, even in the midst of acedia? What deeply true you-ness might be wanting to emerge?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-07-06 14:42:52 UTC