The ADD Generation

First off, my apologies for being silent. I was traveling for two days, and just getting back into the routine for the third. But things are settling down, so I have some time to write. Well, I'm making time to write. Which is pretty much how any new commitment starts; there's a period where you have to force yourself into the routine, before it becomes routine. I've learned this the hard way with many failed attempts at life changes, new habits, commitments, etc. But that's how you learn, I suppose.

Now for the entree. 

If you ask most high school and college-aged teenagers about sleep, you'll most likely get a slack-jawed expression, their eyes glazed over, as the very concept is so far removed from their daily existence that it's becoming a lost art. We fill our lives with activities like a druggie pumps heroin into his veins: we just can't get enough.

From school to church functions, to baseball to xBox, reading to writing, singing to playing piano, watching TV to browsing Facebook, we cram so much into our days, and it's becoming a problem.  First, that we can't give anything our full attention, which means shoddy work. And secondly, we don't have the time to slow down and rest, which stresses us, the people around us, and the people we work with, out. 

Sure, doing stuff is great. Especially productive or important activities, like homework or daily devotions. But you have to realize something: you can't do everything.

That's a concept that, while it's disappointing, it's not entirely hard to grasp. Now, here's something else: you can't do everything you want to. Ouch.

I'm not gonna go into dreams and hobbies and stuff right now (I'll save that for another post), but the gist of it is that we all do too much. We don't know how to say "no". To anything. Or anyone.

So my first bit of advice is learning to say "no" to someone. You don't have to be a jerk about it; simply explain that you really can't do that right now, or possibly at all. It's not the end of the world. The ground isn't gonna open up beneath you, unleashing the fires of torment to engulf you for your transgressions. More likely is that they'll say, "Oh, sorry to bother you," and be on their way. And if they punch you in the face and take your wallet, then that's probably not someone you should be helping anyway.

For some reason it's hard for most people to grasp that refusing to do something for someone won't make you a social outcast. Look: you saying 'no' is more helpful to me than you standing there being indecisive, or even saying 'yes', then not being able to follow through. If you can't help me hunt for Bigfoot next Saturday, then just tell me now so I can go find someone else who will. 

My second piece of advice is to slow down. Life is a beautiful thing, and the most enjoyment you get out of it isn't walking around with a pocket full of cash, or getting an A on a midterm (though I wouldn't mind having either one); sometimes just sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee, listening to the sounds of the day starting can be the difference between enjoying your day, or screaming at your kids. Take a walk. Put on your favorite song and just close your eyes and listen.

We're such an ADD culture that we can't stand to do just one thing at a time. We've always got our cellphones, ready to carry on a sporadic conversation with someone a hundred miles away, or whip out our iPods when walking--or even talking to your friends--gets too boring. I've seen it happen countless times at school, gatherings, and even parties. Someone--or several people--just has to put on the ol' earbuds and tune their life out, or ignore the flesh and bones in front of them for a 2" LCD screen.

This whole detachment from the beauty and wonder of creation is something that I believe leads to the erosion of one's conscience, something that causes problems like depression, suicide and murder. If we don't stop to think about how truly blessed we are to live in this incredible world, full of sights, smells, tastes, people, and emotions, what's to stop us from starting a fire in the woods? Throwing a dog off a cliff? Hitting our kids? Murdering an unborn infant?

Without any appreciation for the beauty and wonder that God has blessed us with, life is just a mess of stress, deadlines, taxes, and death. And a true appreciation of beauty comes from an appreciation of the one who created it.

-Micah McFarland