Nowadays most people, at least in the Western world, feel they are in need of more time. They rush around trying to accomplish a lot of things. The pace of life is speeded up, and some feel that time is taking more and more of their attention. Is this fast pace of life made up by mankind, or does it come from somewhere else? What lesson is Soul supposed to get from these experiences?
Life today truly flies at a supersonic speed. Two main viewpoints in regard to this phenomenon exist.
One, people are victims of technology. But its attractions, like the cell phone, to name only one of hundreds, is like candy. It’s hard to give up one’s need for it. Yet both, in excess, are a health concern—one spiritual, the other physical.
We love our addictions. Otherwise we wouldn’t do them.
The second view of today’s rat race is less common. In short it says, “We don’t have to live like this.” So people rearrange their jobs and lifestyles to enter a calmer, more sane existence. Of course, it means the sacrifice of some candies.
Lin Yutang, a modern Chinese wise man, said to let one thing go. Sage advice with many ramifications.
When your schedule gets out of hand, just let one thing go. In fact, it may take doing more than once in an hour. You’d be surprised how such a simple idea can put you in control of your time again.
Make no mistake, people in this supersonic world wanted to be reborn into this era. Even if they had a choice to come at a more placid time or in a more settled age. Yet complaints are an inborn part of human nature. People like to complain about self-made troubles.
The lesson for Soul is patience and humility. The gadgets are like badges that scream: “Look how important I am!” “Me, top-drawer stuff—compared to you.”
What else is that but vanity? So it needs humility.
—Sri Harold Klemp