Slow Motion: Addicted to Speed

In a recent post I began to explore the idea of "Learning to Pause." Yesterday's during the message, we began to develop this idea a little further and the implications that it has on our daily lives. Because our culture is so marinated in speed, it can be extremely challenging to begin to establish new patterns of slowness into our daily rhythms of living. I suspect it will take more than a message to dislodge most of us, so this week, I'd like to continue the conversation of Speed and our need to begin incorporating elements of living in Slow Motion.


We'll start by looking at the symptoms of what Lewis Grant calls "Sunset Fatigue." Consider the following questions/symptoms:

• You find yourself rushing even when there’s no reason to;

• There is an underlying tension that causes sharp words or sibling quarrels;

• You set up mock races (“OK, kids, let’s see who can take a bath fastest”) that are really
about your own need to get through it;

• You sense a loss of gratitude and wonder;

• You indulge in self-destructive escapes from fatigue: abusing alcohol, watching too much
TV, listening to country western music [okay, the last one is mine, not Grant’s].

• When a person is talking slowly, do you ever find yourself wanting to (or actually)
finishing their sentences?

• Do you nod a lot when a person is talking slowly in an effort to keep them moving along?

• When you stop at a red light with two or more lanes with cars in them, do you ever try to
anticipate which car looks faster so you can get behind that car and save a few seconds
when the light turns green?

• Do you ever try to gauge which line at the grocery store will be the quickest and get in
that line? And, if it turns out you picked the slower line, does it bother you?

Sunset Fatigue is "When we come home at the end of a day’s work, those who need our love the most, those to whom we are most committed, end up getting the leftovers. Sunset fatigue is when we are just too tired, or too drained, or too preoccupied, to love the people to whom we have made the deepest promises.” (Lewis Grant, quoted in Dolores Curren, Traits of a healthy Family and The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg.)

New Trends in Technology

"Learn as if you were going to live forever.
Live as if you were going to die tomorrow."

Mahatma Gandhi

"The people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world are the ones who do."
-Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple

Recently, in Creative Learning Conversation, Color Outside the Lines we we're talking about utilizing various means of technology as a part of the creative process to better gather and develop ideas. For several present, some of the means and usage of various technological tools discussed were new and at times, even overwhelming.

The speed of change and increase of knowledge, innovation and technology is amazing. It is an ongoing challenge (as thrilling for some that it may be) to stay constant and "up-to-speed" with the latest and greatest. After this particular time together, Amy tipped me off to a recent video she had seen on uTube demonstrating this very idea of technological innovations and the challenge humans can experience to keep up with the changing of the times... Mad props and thanks to you Amy, it is brilliant, true and hilarious.

Check out this Norwegian sketch about technological innovations and how people initially struggle to get acclimated...

Cultural Shifts within the American Church

The Church in America is experiencing significant cultural shifts. The things people are looking for today are not the same that people (the same age) were looking for twenty years ago. Is that good, bad, or just a historical reality?

Darrly Dash recently highlighted the following quote by Michael Horton. It serves as a great commentary on the Church in America, the cycles it has experienced over the past several decades and the shift(s) that are currently taking place. Horton says,

" According to one Wall Street Journal study, in fact, the number one element that young urban professionals in New York said they would look for if they decided to go back to church: theological discussion groups! I guess I’m getting older. To me, the megachurch movement was contemporary, but now it’s old news and the generation that was raised in it is now looking for something more serious, meaningful, beautiful, and truthful."

The Art of Exploration

"If you hold a cat
by the tail you learn things you cannot learn
any other way."
(Mark Twain)

Often our learning and creativity is crippled by our lack of ability to look at things in new and fresh ways. It has been said that a genius is simply someone who scrutinizes the obvious. They look at the same things everyone else does, only they have the ability to see something different. Something everyone else carelessly overlooked. They ask a lot of "why" and "what if" questions. They understand as Mark Twain pointed out, we've all seen a cat and we all know experientially something about cats. Yet regardless of feline expertise, we are all apt to learn something new when we hold it up in the air by nothing but its tail. This is experiential learning at its best, not to mention an unlikely forgettable experience.

Every public presentation/communication should aim to design an unforgettable experience. Isn't this what Jesus did with boats, nets, storms, fish, bread, seeds, even spittle in the mud? Jesus delivered much more than data and facts, He crafted an experience, an encounter, an engaging at the deepest level. Did jesus prepare for these encounters? Did He have a mental notebook full of objects and such and how they could communicate supernatural truths? Was the first time He spoke the parables connecting earthly realities to spiritual principals the first time He had ever thought about it? Was it just some spontaneous combustion of Spirit inspiration?

Or had He taken notice, reflected upon and stored away somewhere in His memory bank these images...? Creative ideas emerge as we develop the tenacity to see the world around us as a canvas filled with insight and inspiration. Creativity grows as we learn to look in the most unlikely of places for truth and insight. Experiences will begin to take shape, as we dive into the unknown, rediscover the curiosity of a child, and the persistence of a pirate looking for hidden treasure.

This is the Art of Exploration... Where is it taking you and what are you finding...?

New Landscapes of Learning

Once upon a time, not so long ago, if you asked any individual where one would go to "learn," you would quickly be told with no uncertain doubt, "school." Schools were the primary place of learning, teachers where the foremost conduits of information. Children simply went to school to learn and be taught.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to tap into higher education, you would have to pay untold amounts of tuition fees, travel great distances, and shoulder your way through uninteresting lectures and predetermined curriculum. But, what if you could customize your education? What if you could dive into the courses you wanted, pause for personal research and exploration, only to pick back up where you left off? With the advances of the digital cultures at hand this is more than a bizarre question.

Currently the landscapes of learning are undergoing significant transition. Individuals are once again experiencing the art of self-discovery learning and exploration. However, much of this is taking place "outside" of the classrooms. How our educational systems intuitively and creatively interact with these present realities will considerably influence the future of educational systems and institutions.

Currently, you can tap into half of the nation's top 500 schools and universities. How? Our good friends at Apple, it's called "iTunes University."

iTunes University is a collection of podcasts and vodcasts created by university professors. All of these are made available - for free. Free university lectures on topics of my choice? This is simply amazing! You can search by School, Topic, or Subject. As such, you can begin to customize your own educational experience. Just yesterday I took part of a Communications Class at Stanford University and then jolted over to Seattle Pacific University to watch a special lecture by Dr. N.T. Wright. Talking about a "Personalized Learning Environment" right in front of you. Tuition: Free. Where will you go? May the explorations of learning begin afresh and anew.

Reflections from the Life of a Runner... Part IV

"TRAINING MUST BE MULTIFACETED"

You cannot reach your maximum physiological potential by merely doing the same thing over and over. No runner runs the exact same distance, pace, or even place everyday. There are “speed” days where you may be on the track running “quarters” (running one lap around the track [440meters] over and over just over 60 seconds for each split, with only 60 seconds rest in between). Honestly, these were the days I dreaded the most. On the other end of the spectrum there are “long” days or “distance” days. On these days you lace up the shoes and run somewhere between 10 and 19 miles, depending on what point it is in the season. These practices could take up to two-and-a-half hours. When your done with these runs, your legs feel like jello. On other days, you are up for a 6:00 am, 5 to 8 mile run, only to return in the afternoon for a similar run with a variable of elements included. There are a number of ways of switching up pace, speed, intensity, and so on to enhance muscle strength, endurance and speed.

Each of these variations is extremely important if you aspire to be competitive. Each of these workouts enhances a type of muscle and works together to strengthen the whole. Though I hated “speed” days, I knew it was one of the most valuable practice days for me, because “sprinting” wasn’t my strength (other wise I would have chosen to participate in a MUCH shorter race J). I was thankful for a coach who knew what I needed to do more than I wanted to do it. Though I rarely thanked my coach on the day of these work outs, I saw the benefit of the momentary pain and discomfort.

“No discipline (training) seems pleasant at the time,
but painful. Later on, however,
it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.”
(Hebrews 12:11)

Any time a runner does the “exact” workout over and over day by day, they will reach a plateau. A skilled runner has the discernment to know what variation of work outs they need, as well as, when it’s time to change how their working out. The same is true for those who follow the teachings of Christ. Consistency is key, however if we do the exact same thing day in and day out, we may run the risk of spiritual plateau. We need the spiritual discernment to know when we are growing, changing, and being transformed and when we are doing the same thing, only without any advancement in our spiritual formation.

Reflections from the Life of a Runner... Part III

"In every race I’ve ever run,
there came a moment
when I wanted to quit."


One would think, in order to run a fast time during a race all one would need to do is run and run and run daily preceding the race day. This is certainly true, but there are some other significant factors in addition to running alone. Muscle memory (discussed two days ago) is crucial for pacing yourself and knowing where you are at during the race. Likewise, understanding the principle that “feelings lie” is also paramount, especially on those days when you would rather be any where except training (discussed yesterday). There is another area that has proven to be fundamental to me.

In every race I’ve ever run, there came a moment in the race where I wanted to quit. It usually wasn’t during the first mile (unless I was absolutely getting ‘smoked’ J). I could never predict when these thoughts would come, but come they would. Sometimes they would start out faint and build with every step, every muscle ache, and especially with every person that passed me on the trail. Though, I could not calculate when they would come, I did begin to recognize patterns and times of vulnerability to these empathetic-wanna-quit-mind-sets. Often, when I was alone in the woods for a long time during a race, the desire to slow down, or the thought that I would never catch the person ahead of me was pretty pervasive. However, the worst of thoughts typically comes after the first 2.5+ miles (the race was typically 5mi/8k).

Two runners will be running next or near to another runner. The one will begin to do what is known as a “surge.” This is where you are running right next to another runner and you begin to pull out in front of them, but not to far, just a couple of feet. The other runner will without doubt attempt to follow your lead and keep up. At this point, you let them remain with you, perhaps even slow down a touch, resuming the pace you were at before you surged. Then about twenty-seconds later, you will do it again and again. After a couple of minutes, the other runner will begin to hear those dreaded thoughts, “I can’t keep up with this guy!” “He’s just too strong.” “He won’t budge.” “Just let him go…”

A practiced runner understands how this battle goes on within his opponent and knows when and how to implement these various techniques to ensure his victory.

It takes much more energy for a runner to keep up with a “surger” than it does to be the one “surging.” For the one trying to keep up, there are all these mentally realities that begin to come into play…. “I want to quit.”

I’ve been in races when my mind began to sing this sad song. It’s amazing how many ways you can think of to “throw” a race during these moments! “Coach, I got a bad stomach cramp.” “I fell.” “Someone pushed me down.” “I’ve been kind of sick the last couple of days.” “Something I ate didn’t sit well with me.” To just name a few of the excuses that race though one’s mind.

To be sure, the battle rages in the mind and the skilled runner is one who knows when not to listen to the silent counselor. This pseudo-counselor is always looking for the easy way out, and in short, he is a “wimp!”. The trained runner is one who understands how the mental battle rages and has developed the character in practice to endure the mental-war on the course.

Scripture speaks of specific and strategic moments in the “race of life” where we are susceptible to similar mental battles. The Greek word for these moments is kairos. Kairos is the word commonly translated for “time.” It doesn’t just mean time as in chronological sense or calendar time, it is used in the context of a very specific and strategic time. “There will be an open door at this place, at this specific time, and that is the moment to strike.” This word is used to describe how Satan comes against and attacks followers of Christ, even Christ Himself.

For example, “when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him (Jesus) until and opportune time (kairos) (Luke 4:13). In other words, the devil would pull back, but not too far. He would be watching from a distance, waiting, looking, longing for a moment when he could “surge” against the Son of Man and bring Him down.

Satan knows at what “mile marker” we are typically most vulnerable. It is during these “times” the he “surges” against us, bring strain to relationships, circumstances and situations. At these moments, the battle will rage in our minds. What will we allow ourselves to think…? “Just quit.” “It’s not worth it.” “This will never change.” “I’ve been in this place again, what’s the use.” “No one will really notice if…”

It is the skillfully trained runner who is not surprised by these thoughts, nor thrown off course.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,
because when he has stood the test,
he will receive the crown of life
that God has promised
to those who love him.
(James 1:12)