The landowner in Jesus’ parable went into the marketplace hour after hour; finding men there at the proverbial “eleventh hour,” he asked them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day long?” Turns out, it was a lack of opportunity rather than a lack of interest; when offered an chance to work, they were glad to take it (Matthew 20:6-7).
I fear some of us do not have an excuse quite so good.
On March 20, 1925, an Anglican priest named Frederick Lewis Donaldson preached a sermon centering around what he called the “7 Deadly Social Evils.” Through the help of what he called a “fair friend,” Mohandas Gandhi had the opportunity to reprint the list in his weekly newspaper. A few weeks before the Mahatma’s assassination, he gave a handwritten copy of the list to his grandson, Arun Gandhi. It was Arun Gandhi that brought the list to the world, publishing it after his grandfather’s death under the heading “Seven Blunders of the World.”
Doing something is not always the right choice. Sometimes it is better to do nothing. Nothing at all. It’s a concept the Dutch call niksen. It encourages people to deliberately take time every day — especially the busiest days — to sit motionless, gaze out a window at nothing in particular, whatever it takes to disengage your mind and body.
American workers, always with the go-go-go mentality, tend to view this approach with disdain. It’s lazy. It’s wasteful. The only proper way to work is full throttle, full time. On a related note, American workers suffer greatly from depression, stress, high blood pressure, and divorce. A connection, perhaps?
Well, spring has sprung. And that means a host of new articles in this space about Hal’s lawn maintenance. Those who have been reading this column for a while have gotten used to this, I suspect.
The early signs are good this season.
For me, the toughest thing about cutting grass — by far — is putting on my shoes. It seems illogical, but it’s true. I will come up with any and every conceivable reason to not get out there and do what needs to be done. Too hot. Too wet. Too tired. Too busy. Too many interesting videos on YouTube.
Once I get my shoes on, though, I’ll go. And once I go, I’ll finish.
For everyone who has been fretting that television-watching conditions in the average American home have been just too oppressive, there is good news. Now there is a bed that transforms into a theater. Literally.
