I read this New York Times Magazine article with fascination, drawn into the beauty of the life of people on a Greek island. The writer has been seeking to find the key to their extraordinarily long lives.
Their food is simple, homegrown, primarily vegetarian, and herbal teas and homemade wines are consumed daily. Exercise is just a normal part of life, and everyone gets plenty of sleep. However, the researcher affirmed the impossibility of just importing their food, sleep and exercise habits as a solution to the diseases of civilization that plague us in more developed countries. He writes,
As soon as you take culture, belonging, purpose or religion out of the picture, the foundation for long healthy lives collapses. The power of such an environment lies in the mutually reinforcing relationships among lots of small nudges and default choices. There’s no silver bullet to keep death and the diseases of old age at bay. If there’s anything close to a secret, it’s silver buckshot.
It’s a whole life that comes as close to God’s will on earth as it is in heaven that I’ve ever read about or seen. There is no privacy there—everyone knows everyone else’s business and that helps keep deeds of darkness in check. Isolation can’t happen—someone will always knock on the door and come in or bring people out. They worship together, fast together and feast together.
They have little, but they’ve got everything.
When I read this, I looked at my morning. I woke with the usual list of things that I saw necessary to accomplish this day. I hauled myself out of bed onto the treadmill, got in my required “steps” for the morning before fixing a cup of tea and looking at the newspaper. There I read with increasing sadness about our uncivil society and lack of respect for others in our discourse and actions.
Two articles troubled me the most. The first told about a husband and wife, both with gigantic drinking problems, who had a horrific ending to one of their many arguments and shouting matches. Apparently, the wife grabbed his lariat, put it around her neck and attached it to the bumper of his car as the husband leaped into the car and drove down the road. She was killed. He claims innocence.
The second tells of an Indiana Republican candidate for the Senate who has declared that when a woman is raped and becomes pregnant, this is what God intended. What a horrific “god” that describes, who authorizes the violation of a woman in the name of life.
But the NY Times article about these people on that Greek island reminded me: We don’t have to be like this. We can live decently, in connection with one another, with nature and with God. However, just about every single thing in our so-called civilized culture fights against it.
Yes, everything must change. That phrase came from a clergy retreat last week where our speaker, Brian McLaren, presented his understanding of the Good News of Jesus Christ. He declares, “Everything must change.”
Yes, everything must. We’ve missed the boat. Time to rethink everything.
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