Time Enough? A Response to Michael Yankoski’s “Sacred Year”

In the course of a year, Michael Yankoski goes on a sacred pilgrimage. Although sometimes he travels, much of his spiritual peregrinations involve a journey without distance as he seeks to discover the geography of the spirit. The inner spaces of our lives, Yankoski discovers, are just as spacious as the landscapes that surround our journeys. Yankoski explores the many pathways of Christian spirituality, ranging from silence and simplicity to protest and community. He is in search of a deeper, more abundant life, and like Augustine, his heart is restless as it seeks its rest in God. Much of The Sacred Year is about time, and the transformation of our experiences of time.

The God of Israel and Jesus moves through history, transforming time and space, and inviting us to see both time and space in light of God’s vision of shalom. The whole earth declares the glory of God, Isaiah discovers, and God is, as Paul affirms, the reality in whom we live and move and have our being.

Jesus promises abundant life to his followers and this may mean in a god-filled world, abundant time as well. How we view time can cure or kill. Physician Larry Dossey speaks of hurry or time sickness as a malady affecting many people today. Many of us are constantly on the move, multi-tasking, and overbooking. Time is a commodity that is constantly slipping away from us. We simply don’t have enough of it, and are running on adrenaline, often weary and anxious about so many things to do in so little time. But, if someone were to ask us, what really is important or what we’re hurrying toward, we might have trouble coming up with an answer.

We often feel busy. And this busyness is reflected in the quality of our breathing, in anxiety and adrenaline, and a sense of being off kilter, even when we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves. In fact, we often believe ourselves to be so busy that we have no time for spiritual practices such as prayer or meditation. As a spiritual teacher and theologian, I have often heard people say, “I just don’t have time to meditate, do self-reiki, or go on a walk.” But, our experience of time’s scarcity can be the invitation to self-awareness and a new awareness of time. As part of an interdependent universe, we are connected with galaxies and solar systems and the energies that created the Earth. From one perspective, our lives began on the first day of creation and stretch forth into infinity. The energy of the big bang flows through us. Deep down we have enough time, if we identify ourselves with God’s time.

Yes, we need timepieces, whether on our phones or wrists. Yes, we be need to prompt in fulfilling our duties. Most afternoons in my life are punctuated by picking up my oldest grandson at 3:30 p.m. I build my work day around that time and out of my intentionality – the joy of seeing him fun across the playground to me and then spend an hour or two at play with me – the rest of work day falls into place. I need to be places – bible studies, morning prayer, meditation group, and church meetings – on weekdays, and I have learned that I can balance my life most days to be an effective village pastor and writer and a loving spouse and grandparent without hurrying. Oddly enough, it is the time spent in morning meditation, self-reiki, and my daily walk on the beach that gives me a sense of spaciousness.

I recognize that most people don’t live near the ocean and have less flexibility than I do. Still, I believe that we can reclaim a sense of time’s spaciousness and connectedness with creation. Here are a couple practices that you can adapt to your own schedule:

1) Take a few moments for stillness, perhaps, just a few breaths as the day begins, opening to God breathing in and through you.
2) Pause a moment as you go from task to task – starting the coffee or expresso maker, turning on the computer, logging on to e-mail or facebook, starting the car, going to a meeting. Taking a moment to pause grounds you in the infinite and ever-changing now of this time and place.
3) Pause to taste your food. When you eat lunch, eat your lunch rather than multi-task. As the Psalmist says, taste and see that God is good.
4) Notice beautiful things. Place something beautiful in your workplace environment. Find a beautiful, nurturing spot near your workplace to retreat to if your schedule permits.
5) Observe how you feel throughout the day. If you are becoming “time sick,” or feeling busy, pause and breathe deeply.
6) Leave a few minutes early for appointments, allowing yourself to enjoy the drive or walk.
7) Take time for gratitude, feeling thanksgiving and sharing thanksgiving.

These are just a few pathways to transforming time. We can live Michael Yankoski’s sacred year by claiming and living our lives one sacred moment at a time.