By VERNA BROCK
Lately, current events (life!) often seem like a progression of bread and circuses. For those unfamiliar with this expression, it describes the concept that the ancient Roman Empire relied on extravagant entertainment and food (comfort) to distract the population from ongoing crises. The Emperor hoped to keep them mollified enough to ignore the chaos instead of demanding change. Citizens would focus on the next cheap thrill, rather than complaining or holding their representatives accountable. Anyone relate to this analogy?
In today’s world, stories of chaos are juxtaposed against unimaginable innovation, of violence against the exhilaration of scientific success. The world pursues entertainment, wealth and distraction at all costs. So many issues are vying for our attention! We are constantly bombarded with information about the latest crises. Our psyches are bruised and bleeding from the onslaught of looming disaster. Real people are suffering in the real world. It can feel overwhelming, and exhausting. How do we as individual members of society, simple cogs in a wheel, determine the most important issues requiring our scrutiny?
This whirlwind of uncertainty can leave us disoriented and feeling unbalanced. I don’t believe this is unique to our time; people throughout history have struggled with change and upheaval. But knowing we’re not unique doesn’t make coping any easier, and the rapid pace of change seems to escalate daily. So what is the solution? Where do we begin to regain our sense of balance? It seems imperative to define our priorities so we can spend our limited allotment of time, resources and energy upon the issues that matter most to each of us.
This past Sunday evening I watched an interview with former Senator Ben Sasse on “60 Minutes.” Diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer at 54, Sasse spoke meaningfully with reporter Scott Pelley about how his illness caused him to focus deeply on the things he holds most dear: his faith, family and the future of America. If you missed this interview, I highly recommend you seek it out. I was greatly moved by both men and their reflections on how recognizing their own imminent mortality affected them.
Sasse shared his desire to see our country unite as a community, recognizing both the challenges we face and the strength we have when we work as one. His insights were illuminating, and spoke to how we must overcome our differences. I’ve personally witnessed the power of the human spirit in response to disasters, seeing how neighbors come together to aid one another, making the world functional again. So I know we are capable of addressing the difficulties that lie ahead.
I hope we won’t need to face our own deaths to examine the things that matter the most. As I often write, denial is a powerful intoxicant. It keeps us in a sort of suspended animation, pretending that whatever we most fear doesn’t exist. But it also gnaws at our unconscious, constantly striving to wake us up and make us pay attention.
Instead of ignoring reality, burying our heads in the sand, or dulling our souls with constant stimulation, let us choose to live a fully conscious life.
Let’s focus on awareness of what is truly meaningful, and how we can best serve and protect it. No time like the present to shake off the lethargy of inaction and start moving those mountains together, one wheelbarrow at a time!