These days I sort of feel like a hamster on a wheel, always running, running, running, but never really making any progress. I feel like I’m bouncing constantly from one task to another all day long, and there are so many times when I just wish I could climb off the wheel and take a break.
I don’t think I’m the only one. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? For a while I thought perhaps this feeling of being overwhelmed was just a part of getting older. The more I talk to people of all ages, however, the more I learn they feel the same way.
In fact, recently I had a conversation about this with Sister Anne Alderman, executive director of Cobblestone Springs, a retreat and renewal center in Dundee. The Sister of St. Joseph said she encourages people to come to Cobblestone Springs to slow down and reconnect with God, with themselves and with nature. These days people seem to be busier than ever before, yet for some reason society doesn’t seem to support the idea of slowing down and making time for prayer or reflection, she added.
And when people do take the time to slow down, they often go to the opposite extreme and take a break from everything, including their relationships with God and church participation, noted Father Richard Shatzel, pastor of Good Shepherd Catholic Community in southern Cayuga County. He recently participated in a Blessing of the Boats at St. Patrick Church in Aurora, in part to help people realize that taking a break for relaxation and for recreational activities doesn’t have to mean taking a break from God.
Do you have any advice for me? What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? How do you make time to reconnect with your inner self and with God?
