“We speak about our mindset and disposition towards our lives in this world. When we are living in a proactive spirit or disposition, we live deliberately. We demonstrate better control of our time. It is not so much about time-management as it is about our ability to exercise self-control with our daily schedule. Living proactively means saying “I can’t do everything and I am not even going to try”. It will mean declining certain things. It might mean postponing certain events in order to spread them out to avoid unnecessary stress. It also means we are not afraid to block out time each day to have some stillness, in which we pause time, and orient ourselves to where we are, what has happened so far in our day, and what we plan to do later. Perhaps we have to learn to be okay with our kids doing one or two activities rather than three or four. For too many of us, time and worldly standards are taskmasters at our backs, robbing us of our health and driving us forward without being able to take a deep breath. However, we can learn to become the taskmaster who wields time and listens to the Holy Spirit rather than the standards of the world.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul)
“Shortening time makes it pass more quickly, so we have less of it, as each activity is lived less intensely…time is intimately linked to movement, which allows the perception of time. The slower the movement we follow, the more slowly time seems to pass. Rapid and frequent movements make time pass quickly…Far from freeing up time, the new media simply shrink time and speed up everything. The result is a world without duration, because everything is always changing and there is no more space between temporal markers.” (Jean-Claude Larchet)
“We can only meet God in the present moment…Because we can encounter God only in that present moment, whenever we live in the past or in the future, we place ourselves beyond His reach. We can only make decisions in the present moment. We can only enjoy sights and sounds in the present moment. We can only love or hate in the present moment. The present moment is the interface between ourselves and the rest of the universe, and, more importantly, it is the only point of contact between the individual and God. Of all the possible points of time, only the present moment is available for repentance. The past cannot be taken back and remade. The future remains forever outside our reach.” (Archimandrite Meletios Webber)
“I recently had a heart-rending conversation with a wonderful young woman who, outwardly at least, seemed to have a fulfilling life….I sensed that everything was not going as well with her as outward appearance indicated. With very little prompting, she readily confided that she had been deeply depressed over a number of years, and…had even entertained the possibility of suicide. She came from a caring family, and enjoyed numerous friendships, but none of the people in her life had sensed her deep distress and unhappiness. It was not that they didn’t care; quite the opposite was true. Rather it was that life had somehow become so hectic that there was little time for meaningful conversation and deep personal sharing. Distracted by the mundane, they had neglected what was truly important.” (Fr. Andrew J. Demotses)
“…the stresses and challenges of the moment can overshadow the remembrance of our divine calling. The passions and their temptations can divert us from the Lord’s summons to holiness. And the purpose for which Christ has chosen us to be His disciples can be lost in the day-to-day grind. Our study suggests that we ask ourselves whether we also need to be reminded of our calling–who we are and whom we serve. If so, we must pray that the Lord of Grace will call us back to the holiness, the dedication to God that is our true vocation in Christ. When we do, then all that we do from day to day will have an underlying sense of a larger purpose.” (Fr. Basil)
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