Just A Minute

May 4, 2021

Dear Saints,

We’ve all used the phrase “just a minute” at least a thousand times in our lives and any child you have told that to, usually comes back with one of a number of responses including: “That’s what you said five minutes ago!” Author and gerontologist Dr. Ken Dychtwald many years ago said that time, in no matter what form (a minute, a day or year) seems far longer to children and youth in relation to their age. To them, the felt experience is mathematically a larger fraction. As we age, therefore, time does feel like it’s ‘moving faster’ because relative to our age, it is a much smaller fraction of our life span.

I heard a very interesting interlude on the radio the other day sandwiched in between 2 programs called “Just a minute”. It was an intentional break. It was a guided mediation for literally “just a minute” to help bring calm to the listener, even… for a minute. It began with calming music and a gentle voice speaking… “take in a few cleansing breaths… begin to be aware of your breathing… close your eyes…and try to find the calm…” It all sounded so good and I was going to try it except…I was driving.

But…if I’m honest I wasn’t on a highway, I was exiting a parking lot. I could have stopped, pulled over and joined in to this surprising little gift in the middle of the day. But I didn’t feel like it. I kept listening and driving. Why didn’t I want to stop? Why didn’t I want to take in the gift? Because…I had a plan. I had a schedule and I didn’t want to stop.

What is it about us that we refuse to take in the simplest of gifts of peace and quiet? What is it about us that we are so driven to keeping our own schedule, our own plans and maintain everything (seemingly) under our control? I’m not speaking about time frames where we are under deadlines, appointments and the like. I’m talking about the resistance to stopping; the resistance to flexibility and change; the resistance to vulnerability. It’s so much easier to keep on driving, staying in our heads and ticking things off our lists. Two hours later as I sat outside my Dr’s office (where I knew my blood pressure was about to be checked), I wished I had taken ‘just a minute’ to allow myself to be calm.

Jesus was constantly stopping people in their tracks and inviting them into places of calm, peace, forgiveness as well as healing and prayer. Some came and stayed for the teaching, the calm and the companionship. Others sought to chide or criticize he and the disciples and as we know most just kept walking, making a wide circle between Jesus and themselves. We’re guilty of the same and yet we call ourselves disciples!

How can we call ourselves disciples but not be willing to be disciplined about our habits, our time, our actions, and our prayers? I encourage us all to be more mindful of time. The ancient Greeks had 2 words for time (including 1 century Palestine, when Jesus and the Disciples lived) kairos and chronos. Chronos is sequential as in seconds and minutes. Kairos refers to a particular ‘time’ for a specific action or event.

It’s time for us to take “just a minute” every day and take in the peace that passes all understanding, in our lives, regardless of what we’re doing, where we’re going and what we’re worried about. There’s no kairos like the present!

Taking ‘just a minute’ to take in the peace WITH you,
Jen