Element 3. A Daily Rhythm Of Prayer,
Work And Rest
Prayer: We commit ourselves to a regular discipline of prayer. If required, our Soul Friend can give us guidance about this. The Order recommends the use of daily office. The St. Aidan Trust provides offices which are suited to the Way. Ways of praying will vary according to temperament. The Order encourages a renewal of "all kinds of praying" (Ephesians 6:18), and we are therefore committed to discovering new ways of praaying, from contemplative prayer to celebratory praise.
Work: We welcome work as a gift from God. Every member should engage in work, whether it be the routine activities of life or paid employment. Work motivated by values which conflict with the Way should be avoided as much as possible. In humility we accept what God gives us. If we have no employment and are not clear what our work is, then we seek the advice of our Soul Friend. We seek not to overwork, standing firm against all pressure to do so, because it robs us, others or God of the time we should give to them.
Rest: The hours of rest and recreation are as valuable as the hours of prayer and work. The Lord Jesus reminds us that "The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath;" (Mark 2:27) In the Scriptures even the land was given a Sabbath in the seventh year (Leviticus 25:3-5). The need for rest was built into creation (Genesis 2:1-3). A provision for this kind of holy rest should be part of each member's Way of Life.
Addressing the Problem:
Few of us need to be told that modern life is out of balance. The drivenness of our times expresses itself in work that cuts us off from family and community but still demands 60-80 hours per week; in play that consumes time and resources but provides neither refreshment nor renewal. This style of life is represented by an e-mail message floating about, attributed to George Carlin though that is purportedly a hoax:
"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've traveled all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom..."
Understanding the Purpose:
Quotes like the one above may hit the bulls eye, but they do little save increase a sense of hopelessness. Of all of the elements in the Aidan Way of Life, this may be the most difficult. Our cultural commitment to quick fixes commands that we begin a new, balanced, healthy life first thing tomorrow morning. In fact, the outward circumstances of our life effectively conspire to make this dream impossible. When we fail miserably at our resolution, our efforts collapse leaving us with no change but more guilt.
The discipline of Rhythm; of Prayer, Work and Rest are meant to be the chisels by which we chip away at the cultural monolith of insanity bit by bit. Try as we might, we cannot add more hours to our day. Rather the beginning of this discipline is to look for two types of things: those which may be eliminated and those which may be redeemed.
Making a Plan:
Begin with what can be eliminated. Many of us have undertaken some form of discipline during Lent. By far the most powerful discipline, from reports received, is giving up television for that season. One effect of such discipline is that after six weeks of reading to one another and spending more real time with our families is that the return of the TV is almost unbearably banal and insulting. The freeing up of this time is an enormous liberation. When we realize that much of our "free" time is consumed by things that are ultimately not worth the effort we will find the task of restoring rhythm much less daunting.
Rest: There are two areas which we need to address here: first, the issue of sleep and second that of our use of uncommitted time. Taking on new disciplines of prayer and study lose much of their profit if we must reduce hours of sleep in order to do so. God has built the need for rest into creation — of which we are a part. We neglect that need at our peril. The constant struggle around our uncommitted time is the battle ground of the urgent with the important. Our normal experience is that the former triumphs over the latter. Like so many other areas of spiritual discipline, trying to right this imbalance by one grand sweeping gesture is a formula for failure and guilt. It is better to consciously decide what things are important to us, to our values and ideals, to write them down, to note when we give time to those things and when we let them slide. Pick one item, and make it a focus of disciplined action. Our long term goal is to recover the rhythm of Sabbath, that God directed discipline of letting the overworked field of our life lie fallow to be renewed and refreshed.
Work: This is one area of our life which may well seem beyond our control. It is true that some live to work and this is an attitude which can be very damaging. However, it is also true that most of us must work in order to live, and this is where our lack of control takes place. Even in this circumstance we have some control, though the cost can be high. There are a growing number of stories of men and women who have chosen to deboard the train to success because the price of success was family, friends, and well-being. Here again, we much search our hearts, joining with our soul friend and inviting the illumination of the Holy Spirit, in order to determine where our true values and ideals lie. From that vantage point, we will be able to make the necessary decision about what orders we will obey from the workplace.
Prayer: The daily "office" recommended by the Way of Life is a collection of prayers and often Scripture readings. Some denominations have forms available to members and the resources of the St. Aidan Trust include many such offices for use at morning, mid-day, evening or night. Using set prayers may be alien to Christians seeking to follow the Aidan Way. Their great advantage is their usefulness as a tool to plant a moment of prayer in the pattern of our day that can be offered no matter our physical or emotional state. The Way also notes the relationship between prayer and temperament. While it is valuable to expand the ways in which we pray, there is a pattern, whether quiet mediation, formal prayers, intercession or praise that is natural to our personalities. Working with our soul friends our first task is to discover our natural pattern. Once that is done, we are free to learn new ways of being with God.
A Final Note:
Regardless of our individual ambitions in this area, the key is still to become clear about where we are and begin such changes as needed in small steps. By the time we have reached adulthood our lives are often like the container ships on the ocean. The patterns of our lives enable us, like those ships, to carry an enormous amount of freight. But like those ships, our lives cannot be steered in quick, tight turns or sudden stops and accelerations. With the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the insight of our soul friends change is possible. Indeed, in human life, change is inescapable. The role of our Way is to become agents of change in our lives, rather than victims of it.
