Update: 9/16/14: I am sticking this post to the front page of the blog for easier reference. Please let me know If you think we need to make a second home-base (after a certain number of comments) to make comments easier to navigate.
Update 2: 9/17/14: I will make a separate home-base for section 2 (ch. 5-11). We could also discuss whole chapters at a time if it will help.
Update 3: 9/24/14: Since we’ve moved to the next section, I am taking this post off the top of the home page. If it needs to go back, let me know.
This is my first ‘blogging through’ done by request. A few of us will be discussing this book here on the blog for the next few weeks. We’re going to learn together how to live ‘focally’ – finding significant “focusing activities” that allow us to focus in on what’s important in the midst of the bells and whistles of our modern technopoly. This post will serve as home-base for our discussion. Feel free to post quotes or subjects that need special attention in individual posts. And if you want your own thoughts shared in an individual post, just let me know.
Here’s the publisher’s description:
In today’s high-speed culture, there’s a prevailing sense that we are busier than ever before and that the pace of life is too rushed. Most of us can relate to the feeling of having too much to do and not enough time for the people and things we value most. We feel fragmented, overwhelmed by busyness and the tyranny of gadgets.
Veteran pastor and teacher Arthur Boers offers a critical look at the isolating effects of modern life that have eroded the centralizing, focusing activities that people used to do together. He suggests ways to make our lives healthier and more rewarding by presenting specific individual and communal practices that help us focus on what really matters. These practices–such as shared meals, gardening, hospitality, walking, prayer, and reading aloud–bring our lives into focus and build community.
Want to join in? You can get the book HERE.
“This is a huge irony. We live in a society that has achieved a standard of living that surpasses the wildest dreams of most of the people in the history of the world; the most conspicuous result is that far too many of us live poor, thin, trivializing lives… SO WE LEARN TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN STANDARD OF LIVING AND WEALTH. Standard of living simply means more money, faster cars, and bigger houses. Wealth comprises living well, having friends, exercising compassion, enjoying and celebrating goodness and beauty, and worshiping God.” (From the Foreword, p.x-xi, emphasis mine.)
“The simple fact, as philosopher Albert Bormann reminds us, is “that people regularly make choices that are counterproductive to the happiness they want… Something’s not working. ‘Labor-saving’ devices make us busier. The faster computers go, the more time we give to them. As highways and cars improve, we drive farther and vehicles become increasingly expensive. Email speeds up communications but eats up greater amounts of time. With the ongoing invention of ‘essential’ devices (even energy-efficient ones), we consume growing quantities of power. I don’t know about your house, but we have power strips in numerous rooms; wall outlets no longer suffice… Gregg Easterbrook convincingly shows that ‘society is undergoing a fundamental shift from ‘material want’ to ‘meaning want,’ with ever larger numbers of people reasonably secure in terms of living standards, but feeling they lack significance in their lives.” (Introduction pg. xvii, xix, xxi)
“In a culture shaped by technology, we expect good things to be easily, uniformly, and immediately available. Turn on the television and see something beautiful. Or heat your frozen ratatouille in the microwave. We regard children as immature for being impatient, but our gadgets train us to expect immediate gratification. Yet mountains, forests, wilderness, and other natural wonders are best enjoyed and most rewarding when we undergo their demands on us and take them seriously as they are, not as one more notch on a tourist checklist. I despair when I hear that the average visit to the Grand Canyon, this natural marvel, is only twenty-two minutes, making it a quick checklist item for quickly passing tourists.” -Ch.1, pg6
“…what Albert Borgmann calls focal practices-activities that center, balance, focus, and orient one’s life…Focal living… helps us identify and perceive the “something more” that people seek. When our existence seems shallow and unfulfilling, he commends focal concerns that ‘center and illuminate our lives. The word ‘focus’ comes from the Latin word for ‘hearth’-a woodstove or fireplace, an essential item for comfort and even survival in many climates. A hearth- as its name implies- is often at the ‘heart’ or center of a house. A lot of attention goes into maintaining a hearth, keeping it in good and safe working order, supplying it with fuel.” -Ch.1 pg. 10, 11, 13)
“Though some have opted to live ‘off the grid’ and find the lifestyle rewarding, my point is not that we should abandon contemporary technology and naively take on previous hardships, and all become- using familiar biblical terminology- ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’ (Josh 9:27). Nor do I believe we should pine after the ‘good old days.’ Rather, my hope is that we consider which hearths can hold us together, which wells can help us drink in abundant life.” -Ch.1 pg. 16, par 3
“We must pay attention to what is supplanted by our habits of technology usage. As Borgmann points out: ‘What concerns or distresses one about technology is its tendency to destroy or displace things and practices that grace and orient our lives.’… Technology enhanced instrumentation and sound equipment has threatened to dislodge- instead of encourage- the voice of the church. Congregational song, an endangered focal practice once accessible to many different people, classes, and ages, can be unwittingly supplanted… We’re all good at naming the conveniences technology provides. We’re not so good at recognizing its inconveniences, displacements, losses, and intrusions… As a good pastor, Todd celebrates positive things already happening among his congregants.”
-Ch.1 pg19 par4, pg20 par4, pg21 par4, pg.22 par5
Would you like to make a post with each quote and then write my comments on them?
I’m not sure that I follow. Do you mean would I like for YOU to make a post with each quote and then for You to write your comments? (I’m just not understanding how I would create a post on YOUR blog.)
As far as use of these quotes go, I’m just logging quotes I found particularly impactful. Whether we go over those topics or not is not important to me. I just wanted to give my suggestions. If there are any topics I for certain want to discuss I’ll be sure to note it when I post that quote.
Sorry I wasn’t clear. If you’d like some of your own thoughts to be in an actual post on the front page of the blog, you can simply write it out in the comments, or send me an email if necessary, and I will copy and paste it into a post and give you credit.
I appreciated him noting that “I should not give the impression that my approach to life shifted quickly or easily.” (Ch1 p7 par2) Trying to to make changes in life can be really frustrating, especially if you think they should occur instantly.
“One writer I admire describes our lives as being marked by “pathological busyness, distraction, and restlessness.” (Ch.1 par1) This quote really resonated with me, more than any of the first chapter’s ways of diagnosing our world today. It is very succinct, and the word “pathological” was choice.
“Maggie Jackson notes that even in the difficult and tedious labor of taking care of homes and families, whenever we do work together, ‘we’re creating the glue that binds us to the humans we love. She is concerned that the relationships may be thinning out so that we are ‘roommate families’ rather than having intimates with deep, intense interactions with each other.” (Ch1 p16 par2)
What really stuck out here for me was when Maggie Jackson said “…whenever we DO work together…” On a daily basis I struggle with involving my oldest son, who is 3, in some of the chores around the house. He likes doing it, but my desire to be “productive” fights against including him. I think “I could get this job done so much faster without him, and then get even MORE stuff done.” Yet, as Maggie points out, these experiences provide the “glue that binds us to the humans we love.” There are deeper objectives that must take priority. I hope to remember this.
This is a really interesting observation on your part, and I will probably devote an entire post to it.
“Motorized transportation, he argued, eats up miles and makes surrounding scenery small and insignificant. ‘You’ve seen it all; yet, you’ve seen nothing.'” (Ch. 2 pg.26 par1)
“The point of table manners- whether hats, utensils, being excused, or leftovers- was not to invent rules to separate the classy from the trashy. Etiquette reminds us of the eminent worth of a meal as an end in itself, a focus, a focal practice. Rules of etiquette- ‘most of them having to do with neatness, cleanliness, and noiselessness’-transform meals into rituals, even works of art. Pausing before one eats, offering thanks to God and to one’s hosts (marking the meal as a ritual), giving an encouragement to others at the table (bon appetit, buen provecho, eet smakelijk, guten appetit), making a toast, and taking time to savor food all reinforce a sense of commanding presence. Margaret Visser reminds us of a basic dinner rule: ‘Refrain from other pursuits while it is in progress.” (Ch.2 pg 33, par 2-3)
As a child, we always ate in front of the TV. (Mostly MTV…) Nobody in my family ate together, and as far as I can discern, there was no notion of “manners” that passed the threshold of my home. At one point, my sister and I had to stay at my great aunt’s house, who was like a grandmother to us, for about 7 months. My grandmother taught us manners of all sorts, including table manners. She required that we use those manners. All I could figure out at the time was that I liked having these rules. They seemed to make the meal “better” somehow. This quote, I think, helps to get at why that is.
Leah,
It’s good to have you in the discussion. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help or encourage as we read. I’ll take all of your comments into account and make some posts about some of them along the way.
“‘As the pace of life increases, Americans are becoming more likely to avoid activities that require patience, learning, discipline, and total commitment. Instead, they choose activities… that lend themselves to their hurried lives and to the endless parade of new technology. People are content to learn to play the stereo, not the piano.'” (Ch2 pg 26, par 4, quoted from John P Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey, “Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time”)
Arthur Boers goes on to say making decisions to employ focal practices is made difficult by all of technology’s entertaining and easy offerings. I agree, and would add that our idolatrous worship of “production” and “speed” also makes it easy to pick the thing that “produces” the fastest- the radio, rather than the piano.
“Intriguingly, the skills demanded and the energy expended in focal activities increase enjoyment of those activities. Edward Abbey writes: ‘All things excellent are as difficult as the are rare… If so, what happens to excellence when we eliminate the difficulty and the rarity?'” (Ch2 pg 27 par 4)
The first time I noticed this was with movies. I noticed how much people enjoyed the movie they watched when they took the time and effort to get ready, coordinate with friends, and go to a theatre to watch a film. Now we often stay home and watch a film “on demand” whenever we so desire. I have had several people tell me about how they “started to watch” a film on their tv but didn’t finish, because they were tired, had stuff they needed to do, or simply didn’t like it. That just didn’t really happen when people only watched movies in the theaters. Even having to pay $5 at Blockbuster pretty much guaranteed that you would think through and commit to your decision. Now, in seeking the greatest of convenience, we’ve abjectly trivialized our experiences.
“Focal practices do not predictably produce foreseeable results,. Yet unforeseen and unanticipated developments are crucial… If one knows that each hike will be enjoyable, then there will not be the same satisfaction. Our culture- relying on devices and gadgets- expects guaranteed results. Press the button and get that effect.” (Ch2 pg 28 par 1, pg 29 par 1)
“Finally, commanding presence points to a greater reality that deserves our attention and even awe, reminding us about our true nature and place. We are humbled… This experience, at its core, centers upon the recognition of the limitations of the self; in Confucian thought, we feel a deep sense of modesty.” (Ch2 pg 29, par2,3)
Understanding of limitation, of nature and place=awe=humility=modesty (the physical manifestation of humility)
“God is the ultimate manifestation of commanding presence- glory, strength, holy splendor, majesty. Note that the psalm [Ps 29] proclaims these attributes are reflected in natural wonders too, including thunder and mighty waters, cedars and wilderness, oaks and forests.” (Ch 2 pg 32 par 2)
[I do think that we ought to make a second post to divide up comments for the book. Actually, I think dividing the book into 3 sections would work even better. The book is already divided into 3 parts. You could just follow that]
I’m open to suggestion here. Would it be better to bring up subjects rather than just quotes? Should I just continue picking certain quotes to talk about at length? Should we discuss chapters? I am willing to do whatever you think will be most helpful.
Ya’ll are picking great quotes, but it’s going to be difficult for me to comment at length on every one; and I haven’t even started posting anything from my own notes. I enjoy seeing the quotes, because it gives me a window into what you find interesting and helpful. I just want to make sure that I am actually being helpful here in facilitating discussion.
I think the quote page is great. It lets us store all the excellent gems we mine from our reading.
It may be useful to have a second page for suggesting/requesting posts. On such a page, a person may include quotes, or topics, or concepts or whatever. This would probably organize things better, and make it easier for you to know what your readers find most important to be discussed. Having settled that, it would give you room to post from your own notes, or delve into the “quote page” if you so desired.
That’s my two cents.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART, and with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND, and with all your STRENGTH.” (Mark 12:30, emphasis mine). Often people make the mistake of assuming that religion is only about some disembodied aspect of our spirits and that matter and bodies and physical reality do not count. But that is not the Christian testimony.” -Ch.3 pg 36 par 2
“Worship[ practices, rituals, and symbols engage us by being MULTIVALENT. They convey many meanings at various levels.” -Ch.3 Pg 38 Par 4
“Worship needs to connect us deeply and root us widely.”
-Ch.3 Pg 40 Par 1
“Awareness of others during meals goes back a long way. Words such as comPANion, comPANy, and comPANero (Spanish) all suggest people with whom we share bread. (Pan is Latin for ‘bread.’)”
-Ch.3 Pg 43 Par 5
“An old-fashioned word, CONVIVIALITY, connotes warm, lively times of socializing, and it is best visualized as sitting at table with others… As Christine Pohl writes: ‘A shared meal is the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom.’ No surprise, then, that so many New Testament stories- parables about banquets, feasts in homes, the last supper, miracle feedings- revolve around food. One acquaintance likes to say, ‘If you can read the gospels without getting hungry, you’re not paying attention.'”
-Ch 3 Pg. 43 Par 6, Pg 44 Par 2
I though the ‘getting hungry’ part could have a nice double-meaning.
[Note, I changed the name for my posts from “Jargonbargain” to BC Cook, as this is my name, and I feel it to be a way of expressing a more amicable posture toward others involved in the conversation.]
“We’re overwhelmed with offers all the time. They come in the form of advertisements mostly. They come in comparisons with what other people do- “Should we do that too?”- what we read in the paper and so on. Orientation is to know what to take and what not to take. And if you have a focal practice that centers your life then that focal practice allows you to make those choices.”
-Albert Borgmann quote, Ch. 4 Pg 50 Par 2
“Nevertheless, all these authors agree that there are points of particular significance in our lives. Something feels altered, different; time passes without our awareness. We forget about ourselves. These kinds of phenomena, however described, involve a sense of wholeness, satisfaction, reward, accomplishment, clarification, and having a glimmer of what matters most, what is most important, what are our highest priorities, being involved in something larger than ourselves. Often we do not realize what is happening while in the midst of such times. As soon as we pay attention or think too self-consciously, the moment disappears.”
-Ch4 Pg.52 Par 5
When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, this is the greatest “point of particular significance in our lives.” Interesting, since chapter 3 spent a great deal of time discussing how worship “connects us deeply and roots us widely” (pg 40). When we experience “particular significance,” the natural response is a kind of worship proportional to that experience. This in turn, when enacted properly, gives us an experience of depth and connection.
2nd thought: When Boers says that paying attention “too self-consciously” loses the momentary, visceral experience, I think we can conclude that the same is true in Worship, as the latter proceeds from the former.
Finally, I am reminded of CS Lewis’ autobiography, in which he discusses running after joy (particular significance) in a way that causes the moment to always disappear (too self-consciously).
I remember reading that in Lewis and knowing immediately that it was true; everyone’s experienced it: trying to conjure up some feeling or experience.
I am preaching through 1 Corinthians 13, and it’s interesting that from the last phrase in verse 4 through all of verse 5, every term has to do with the self. I paraphrase it, ‘love is not self-inflated, not self-assertive, not self-seeking, not self-defensive (not easily provoked, doesn’t count up wrongs). Focal activities have to allow you to, as Polanyi says, indwell something else. That is what cultivates love and joy. It’s not as though you are mystic looking to fade into oblivion. Rather, you are most yourself when you are indwelling Christ, and in Christ indwelling his creation.
Last quote for Ch. 4…
“Gerald May observes that unitive experiences (feeling at one with oneself, God, and the wider world) may be ‘more accessible’ in ‘so-called primitive cultures’ and were far more common in the past. Westerners are often ‘less available or open to such moments’ because of ‘preoccupations with willful thinking, planning, and doing.’ … Erazim Kohak argues that blindness to God’s presence is exceptional. Humans, as a species, throughout the millennia and all over the globe have been worshipers of the Holy… Bill McKibben’s take is this: ‘In ancient forests… there are no atheists.’… It is possible to draw the wrong conclusion from peak or unitive experiences, focal moments or flow. We might see their satisfying stimulation as an end in themselves… Discerning reflection on what gives us life will help us to live fully and well.” -Ch 4 Pg 53 and 54
“When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their [the wicked] final destiny.”
-Psalm 73:16-17
‘In ancient forests… there are no atheists.’ No doubt.
“Resurging interest in farmers’ markets and other deepening commitments to eating locally (some people consume only food that comes from within a hundred-mile radius) are ways that people address a gnawing sense of disconnection. Growing numbers of folks see the value of being directly acquainted with farmers and producers. My wife, Lorna, makes a priority of visiting such markets. She likes knowing the names, quirks, and personalities of our food producers. She appreciates being aware of the geography and conditions of where our food comes from. And we are also better off knowing the true cost–and worth!–of what we eat.”
(Ch. 3 Pg. 41)
I read an interesting article earlier this week that talks about how the Lord’s Supper addresses the local and the global (it seems to be related to some of the quotes that are being brought up here). You can read it here: http://www.canonandculture.com/the-world-in-a-wafer-globalization-localization-and-the-lordssupper/
“Meals engage us internally, of course, by satisfying our primal need for food. Eating is one of the few basic urges that humans ritualize. Other urges are often cared for in private, out of sight. But meals do more than address physical desire.”
(Ch. 3 Pg. 42
“In our immigrant family, it was not uncommon for us to jump into the car after church or after Sunday lunch and just set out with no particular direction in mind. After a time of roaming, one parent would say, “Hey, we’re near so-and-so’s house. Let’s drop in.” This was a perfectly acceptable behavior. There would always be coffee and goodies available for surprise guests. If the visit went well, it might last until evening and soup or bread would be stretched accordingly. On the Sundays we stayed home, we often heard doors slamming in the driveway and that was the first hint we had that we were receiving guests. This was normal and routine. People were prepared to offer spur-of-the-moment hospitality. Yet gathering with friends and extended family is also increasingly difficult now. Lorna and I find that we have to invite people six weeks or more in advance to be able to eat together.”
(Ch. 3 Pg. 45)
I had both a friend and my sister-in-law drop in today for unscheduled visits. This specific part of the book came to mind as I evaluated whether or not I felt put out by their dropping in. Our culture has an increasingly privatized and “self-sufficient” attitude which contributes to the feelings of inconvenience rather than benevolence.
I relate to this myself. I tend to feel put out whenever something unexpected happens.
“For one thing, somewhere along the way I stopped receiving daily newspapers. We could not keep up with all that reading in our hectic lives. If, everyday, I want to pray,spend time with the family, exercise, and read something worthwhile, then there is often no room for what the media deem a priority. I’ve heard that Hegel once observed that the daily newspaper displaced morning prayer.”
(Ch. 4 Pg. 54)