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May 09, 2005
Tyranny of the Little Things
At times, I think that the challenge of modern American life, the true heroics, is not necessarily to be found in facing those larger, life-changing events--death of loved ones, losing a job, etc.* Pastors are trained for such events, friends and loved ones can be a comfort, books have been written, Oprah still plies her wares (I think). Our society, although perhaps not great at maturely dealing with such issues, at least has a response mechanism.
Sometimes, though, the challenges of daily life seem to be the ones that overcome more Americans. That next load of laundry, that next project, that next stack of papers to deal with, that next dinner to make . . . . Sure, these challenges are nothing compared to the important ones mentioned above. Sure, they are mundane--some may contend that they are not challenges at all. Yet, I think, these are what bring many more people down than unemployment and death. These quiet, seemingly meaningless battles with the nit-pickiness of everyday life--these overcome us.
Perhaps it should not surprise us. After all, our post-modern American culture provides us very little, if any, guidance for a meaningful context in which to live our lives. Without this, such small battles, which often make up the greater part of our lives, lose meaning. Thus, lives lose meaning.
The answer, of course, is to provide your own meaning against which you can then measure your little battles. Easily said--perhaps not as easy to implement.
Christianity provides a teleology by which Christians are guided. This is helpful. Yet, many Christians live as if even they have little in the way of an overarching meaning for their lives and, perhaps more importantly, an overarching meaning by which they measure the worth of their response to their daily struggles.
Those of us who are Christians, as well as those of us who are not, need to explore more deeply the meaning behind our lives--to place ourselves in a greater context. To find out why we deal with the little things every day. That, I think, is the challenge of the post-modern life.
*If you are or have recently faced such an event, please don't misunderstand me. My heart goes out to you and this is not intended to minimize what you are going through.
Posted by Mark at May 9, 2005 10:52 PM
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I suppose, for most people, the big things in life - the deaths, divorces, horrible accidents, etc. - are like grand pianos that fall from the sky and smash them into the ground. The little things are tiny stones that are thrown while people's feet are trapped in cement. They can't move, and the stones pile up until they cover them. Though the piano is all-encompassing, it is quick. The stones drag the process out, usually over several years. Either way, they wind up crushed.
Maybe those people need to realize that, though we can't avoid all the pianos, we certainly can avoid most of the stones.
Posted by: SilverBubble at May 10, 2005 04:10 PM