HYPNOTIZED BY HABIT

The apostle Paul uses a strange wording in First Thessalonians 3:8...for now we really live.  

What's the difference between living and really living?  Could it be that the former is more like getting through the day while the other is sensing the wonder of it all?  For now I simply wish to toss in your direction the question, Are we really living?

I wonder.  I wonder if because the sun rises and sets with such consistency, along with steady pace, if we have routined ourselves out of really living.  Even our faith can be found to have deadened by our unthinking rote formats.  We very likely are under the threat of being hypnotized by habit.

I love the really living factor.

What happens when our hypnotic trance is broken?  Life!  Life is everywhere.  We see possibility.  We see potential.  We see opportunity.

I've been in a semi-funk lately.  Trying to figure my future role at Memorial, coupled with a fatigue factor that insists on following me everywhere I go, has been an uphill challenge.  Having met yesterday with two of my friends/elders helped me to break my fog.  I am grateful for a special time to reflect with intent to pursue answers.

We must be on guard.  Daily procedures can become subtle grinds.  If not careful the life will get squeezed out...and such will not be noticed.

I read in a leadership book this week that our greatest innovative development often/usually comes when we aren't focused on the actual circumstance.  Away from the office or out on a three-day vacation seems to have a creative edge.  The reason would include the breaking of habitual routine.

So for your day...for your walk...for your mental and emotional health...I encourage you to come out of your possible trance.  Awaken to the creative flow of God.  Stages for such awakening can vary.

Some may be to leave the office and hit the driving range.  For others it might be to take in a movie on a non-movie-type day.  For some of us, it may simply be to have lunch with other thinkers who would give you input that even they didn't realize.

Hypnotized by habit?  Not if we can help it.  We would rather be energized by variable creativity.