Distraction, Day 30

The way to being is penetration through the surface and insight into reality.
-Erich Fromm

The last few days I’ve been so distracted by everyday activities; working, cleaning, exercising. I haven’t found time to read. I haven’t made time to pray. I haven’t been focusing each moment on increasing, growing, changing, being. I’ve noticed that the spark, the glow, the life I’ve been enjoying for close to a month now hasn’t been there. I’ve been tired, weak, and my will power is practically non existent. Possibly I just need a good nights sleep; 10 hours uninterrupted. But I think that no matter what my circumstances are, the whole point to this venture I’m on is learning to live life every moment every day, no exceptions, no requirements. Maybe I’ve been unknowingly existing in the having mode these past few days. I’m not sure. I do however intend to change matters.

It’s interesting, one of the last things I read in Erich Fromm’s book, “To have or to be,” was the section that talks about activity. He spends a reasonable amount of time explaining how one can be extremely active but not living, not growing, not increasing, not changing; they’re just busy, just moving really. Their body is active but not the living person in that body. And yet someone can be extremely idle, just sitting, reflecting, not moving a muscle and can be increasing, growing, changing; truly they are living, they are “being” alive. I’ve been the former these past few days. I’ve been so busy, so active, and yet as far from living as I’d ever wish to be.

Martha was distracted with much serving
Luke 10:40

(this is ridiculously coincidental, I was looking up the word distraction in the Bible which I only found in 1 verse, however a root of that word, aperispastōs: distraction, led me to this scripture with the word perispaō: to draw around, or to draw away. Martha was drawn away with much serving)