A FB friend posted this quote recently and it's been on my mind. As I work diligently to simplify my life, one of my goals is to make room and time for "activism," though I don't really use that word. I use "volunteer projects." I never thought about over-scheduling myself, no matter what the activities are, as violence. When I'm over-scheduled with meaningless and/or stressful activities, I see it as wasteful more than anything, and I hate that waste of time and energy. But, this quote is challenging my thinking as I do tend to think that all of us are capable of doing MORE. I want to be active, really active, in things that have meaning to me, so I push myself in that direction while I declutter the meaningless stuff from my calendar. But by pushing myself in what I consider a good direction - is that violence? Hmmmmm....
What do you think??
"There is a pervasive form of modern violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes the work, it destroys the fruitfulness of one's own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."
~ Thomas Merton