Blocking Out The "Still, Small Voice"

I read an interesting article today in Harvard Business Review (wow, that makes me sound kind of intellectual doesn't it? :). In any case, the piece was written by a Peter Bregman, entitled "Why I Returned My iPad". And what was the reason?

It didn't take long for me to encounter the dark side of this revolutionary device: it's too good.

It's too easy. Too accessible. Both too fast and too long-lasting. Certainly there are some kinks, but nothing monumental. For the most part, it does everything I could want. Which, as it turns out, is a problem.

The problem, as it turns out, is that he wants his boredom back. And why?

Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises.

My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These "wasted" moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital.

They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They're the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen.

To lose those moments, to replace them with tasks and efficiency, is a mistake. What's worse is that we don't just lose them. We actively throw them away.

It struck me that, far from the purpose of needing to "be bored" we also need the time to listen to God, like Elijah hearing God in the "still, small voice". We all need time-out in this busy world to talk to God and to listen to what He might be saying to us. How can we if we're surrounded by technology - always rushing here and there and working constantly before jumping onto the internet or watching TV, and now, using our iPads which will be within constant reach. If we're not careful, technology can become an idol which the enemy can use to distract us away from the things of God and lead us to give ourselves to the things of the World.

There was a poll up on YahooXtra today asking the question, "Would you be sad at the loss of technology?" The results at the time of writing are -

I expect the people who couldn't live without technology are more likely to be the younger voter in the poll. As for the author of the Harvard Business Review article, Peter Bregman, he has a new routine now -

Around the same time I returned my iPad, I noticed that my eight-year-old daughter Isabelle was unbelievably busy from the moment she got home from school to the moment she went to bed. Bathing, reading, playing guitar, eating dinner, doing homework, she was non-stop until I rushed her off to bed. Once in bed she would try to talk to me but, worried about how little sleep she was getting, I would shush her, urging her to go to sleep.

We have a new ritual now, and it really has become my favorite part of the day. I put her to bed 15 minutes earlier than before. She crawls into bed and, instead of shushing her, I lie next to her and we just talk. She talks about things that happened that day, things she's worried about, things she's curious or thinking about. I listen and ask her questions. We laugh together. And our minds just wander.

Sounds like he rediscovered the important things. I remember someone asking a group of people a question - if you had $1440.00 given to you everyday that you had to spend - you couldn't hoard it, you had to spend it that day - what would you spend it on? We are all given 1440 minutes every day - valuable time - and it's up to us as to what we spend it on.