This weekend has me reflecting on a phrase I read long ago: "the leisureliness of eternity". I discovered it buried in one of the many books I read by the prolific spiritual author, Evelyn Underhill (1875 – 1941). It has floated in my consciousness for decades. The passage spoke of the pinnacles of Christian Sainthood, those who historically moved through religious and worldly activities with Grace and Peace, unpressured by time or urgency. Their movement was centered in their understanding and personal experiences of God as the eternal Doer of all things, beyond human frameworks of time. Underhill also declared: "On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgment and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur." The call to the spiritual life is ultimately a call to the deep Peace of God as Source and Sustainer of all creation in the leisureliness of eternity. And, "He who is in a hurry, delays the things of God."(St.Vincent de Paul).
Contrast this aspect of spiritual peace with our 2024 culture of urgency. Our current awareness of the threats of climate change has fueled a growing world wide concern; humanity must acknowledge our environmental neglect and face substantial changes across the globe. We stretch to research and implement new policies and technology that will impact the current 195 countries on Earth. The warning message of our time frame varies, depending on scientific studies, region, politics and commercial interests. We have solutions coming to the forefront, but simultaneously, centuries of conflicting beliefs, varying cultures, and human drives for power and dominance as yet block our way.
This is one layer of a 21st Century collective urgency (conscious or unconscious), that was unknown in the medieval and renaissance ages of the high saints. Yet, they all were surrounded by beliefs about the world and it's future, whether it was the 2nd coming of Christ, or Armageddon, or the threats of Satan and Eternal Damnation, or the "Infidels" that spurred war. They too had their Plagues, as we had the Covid-19 Pandemic, bringing further collective urgency. Beyond those comparisons though, our current world has the rapid rise of the digital age with new tools for those who seek to leverage the power of constant urgency. On one hand, the urgency of Covid-19 sparked phenomenal international scientific cooperation, and delivered us vaccines and treatments that are still progressing. On the other hand, the Pandemic opened a space of new conflict and division, driven with an unrelenting call of Urgent. That call of Urgent has become the go-to pressure of commercial sales, the standard of weather news, a political battle cry, a fundraising imperative, your fleeting chance for health, and of course, the sly opening for riches, name, fame...Urgency loses it's meaning when everything is labeled urgent. It also recks havoc on the human body and robs us of our Peace.
Today, I invite you to the leisureliness of eternity, as a meditation and a practice. Here in So. California we face more possible rain and flood warnings. I am grateful for the local police, fire, and city messaging across L.A. County that maintains safety by keeping residents updated in potential emergencies during storms and other events. It is an efficient system. Knowing that brings calm to a storm. And knowing that in the context of a larger Spiritual landscape, reshapes the present moment with the clarity to act, if and when, action is called for. Then, the context of "act now" becomes your specific movement of Life in the vastness of the All, free of false shouts of urgent. This is 21st Century spirituality--our place, right now in the space of leisurely eternity. Why not embrace it? (Susan Nettleton)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../upon-time-and-eternity
https://allpoetry.com/Presence-of-Eternity