lifesjourney with Chris Shea

This week, guest blogger Chris Shea considers the tension of living in the midst of information overload and how we can find happiness. Chris is a therapist, chaplain, and retreat leader. He’s written numerous books and articles. He also maintains a blog titled lifesjourney. To learn more about Chris and to follow his blog, visit http://lifesjourneyblog.com/

“The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I consider myself somewhat of a “news junkie”; I believe that my need to know what is happening in the world and in politics stems from my interior need to feel “in control”. Not that I am ever completely in control, none of us are; but in my mind, at least, the more I know of what is happening in the world the more I believe I understand the world. But news headlines alone do not offer an understanding into the lives, feelings, experiences of others. All the headlines do is give me information.

I share this because I have realized that the more I hear about world and local events the more frustrated I become. The headlines are no longer helping me to feel in control; quite the opposite to be honest. The world seems to be falling apart around us, and it seems to me that many people either don’t see it or don’t want to see it. Our world is under a lot of pressure, and many of us are feeling the tension.

In his book. “Yours, Jack,” C. S. Lewis writes, and I paraphrase, that people are more anxious because we know too much about the happenings and events around the world. Lewis posits the theory that our emotions can only handle local stressors and that we were never meant to cope emotionally with the stresses of the entire world. While I don’t completely agree with Lewis’ premise, I do agree that we are emotionally overwhelmed by the instantaneous and constant bombardment with negative news. Naturally, for most people, when life becomes overwhelming we shut down and turn inward. Although this is a natural response, I worry that as so many people are now responding in this way we are turning into an isolated society.

So, where does all of this leave us? For me, I turn to the quote I posted above by Longfellow. I believe that when we feel emotionally overwhelmed with all that is happening in the world, or in our own lives, we need to slow down, focus, and reach out to others.

My favorite song from the group Queen is “Under Pressure”. The part of the song which speaks to me the most is the ending:

“Why can’t we give love that one more chance?
…
‘Cause love’s such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care
For the people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way
Of caring about ourselves”

Powerful lyrics and message! Reaching beyond ourselves challenges us to change not only how we view others, but reaching out in love challenges us to change ourselves. And most of us don’t like change.

I found this quote by Henri Nouwen, a renowned spiritual author, to be quite enlightening:

“Many people live with the unconscious or conscious expectation that eventually things will get better; wars, hunger, poverty, oppression, and exploitation will vanish; and all people will live in harmony. Their lives and work are motivated by that expectation. When this does not happen in their lifetimes, they are often disillusioned and experience themselves as failures. But Jesus doesn’t support such an optimistic outlook. He foresees not only the destruction of his beloved city Jerusalem but also a world full of cruelty, violence, and conflict. For Jesus there is no happy ending in this world. The challenge of Jesus is not to solve all the world’s problems before the end of time but to remain faithful at any cost.”

This is not to say that we give up; but rather that we re-frame our expectations toward realistic goals such as peace within ourselves, our families, our communities. We are asked to accept and trust in God. It is a trust not always easy to come by in light of the realities of the suffering in our world. How can I trust in God through all that is happening around me?

In a book entitled “Franciscan Voices on 9/11”, one of the contributors writes:

“In the scriptures, God does not say, ‘Do not fear, I will take away all the pain and struggle.’ Rather, we hear, ‘You have no need to fear, since I am with you’ and together we will make it.”

These quotes give me hope and encouragement. The wisdom of the writers guide me to action. Not to sit still in fear or sadness, but to take action and make a difference. In our families and local community, what can I do to bring peace?

This quote, taken from the book “Hinds Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnard, sums this up nicely:

“Therefore I begin to think, my Lord, you purposely allow us to be brought into contact with the bad and evil things that You want changed. Perhaps that is the very reason why we are here in this world, where sin and sorrow and suffering and evil abound, so that we may let You teach us so to react to them, that out of them we can create lovely qualities to live forever. That is really the only satisfactory way of dealing with evil. Not simply binding it so that it cannot work harm, but whenever possible overcoming it with good.”

Here is a Zen quote I learned a long time ago: “Student says ‘I am very discouraged, what should I do?’ Master says ‘Encourage others.’” How do we put into practice this Zen quote? Perseverance, determination and practice. In the college class I teach we review a work entitled “Flow: the Psychology of Optimal Experience” written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In this work the author posits that to create happiness it is not the world that must change, rather, our habits and actions need to change. He further states that the happiest people are those who are engaged in the world, doing activities in the world which have a high level of difficulty, and accomplishing what one has set out to do. Therefore, if we do our best to engage the world in making it a better place, we in turn receive a feeling of happiness. To the old adage “actions speak louder than words”.

Our challenge, therefore, is to find the strength and energy within us, whether we feel like it or not, to reach out and encourage others. Not to judge or wish things were different, but to act in such a way as to inspire others so to make it different! Unless we act toward change, change will not happen.