Neglect
is not always negative. It may enable us to lead more focused lives.
In
this age of multitasking and mobile technologies, we feel that we have to answer
every beep. We think we have to constantly check our emails and latest updates
on Facebook.
Trying
to squeeze in as much as we can in a day, we tend to have short attention span.
Besides multitasking, we tend to flit from one activity to another.
If
there is a word to describe the malady of our times, it is distraction. With countless
thoughts, tasks and activities competing for our attention, our
lives become so fragmented.
In
2006, IBM instituted “ThinkFridays” for its programmers. Friday afternoons were
meant to be free from unnecessary meetings, phone calls, instant messaging and
checking of emails. This break enabled them to focus on creative work which often
tends to be pushed into the nights and weekends.
If
we’re not careful, meditation will soon become a lost art. Those who would bother
to set aside time to meditate are mainly baby boomers — for they have learnt to
appreciate its benefits way before the era of smartphones.
Hopefully,
the benefits of meditation, which include prosperity and success, will draw some
ardent fans from generations X and Y.
“This
Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all
that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
When
we clutter our lives with so much “noise”, are we able to sense what God is
telling us through the ‘still small voice’? Are we sensitive to His leading in
our lives?
If thinking
and meditation take a back seat amid all this
intrusions of our digital age so will writing. Text messaging and Facebook
— much of which dwell on trivia — hardly promote creativity in writing or good English
in terms of content, style and grammar.
A
leading Christian thinker, who does not want to be named, laments the lack of creative
Christian literature in Malaysia. These works should ideally demonstrate originality,
depth, focus and relevance to modern times. Without fear or favour, it should stand
up for truth and challenge believers to live up to their full potential.
Let’s
pray that thinking and creative writing will see a resurgence of interest in
this land for God’s glory. Thinkers and writers: Unite, pray and write.
When we intentionally neglect the many urgent
and trivial things in life, we will be able to develop in areas such as meditation,
thinking, writing and hearing God’s voice —
disciplines requiring our focused
attention.
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The Need for Self-Discipline:
“Do you not know that
in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to
get the prize. Everyone who competes in the
games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that
will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached
to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9: 24-27).
"Thinking is hard work, which is why so few people do it." — Henry Ford.
“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and
writing an exact man.” — Sir Francis Bacon.
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