Developing a rhythm of quiet solitude and meditation is counter everything our culture screams at us. The biggest enemy of growth in our walk with Christ is a hurried life. Our daily goal (Dallas Willard) is the ruthless elimination of the hurried life. Worship through thoughtful walks, listening to music, truly listening to our children, and experiencing the outdoors are on my list.
Because what you give your attention to is the person you become. Put another way: the mind is the portal to the soul, and what you fill your mind with will shape the trajectory of your character. In the end, your life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to. That bodes well for those apprentices of Jesus who give the bulk of their attention to him and to all that is good, beautiful, and true in his world. But not for those who give their attention to the 24-7 news cycle of outrage and anxiety and emotion-charged drama or the nonstop feed of celebrity gossip, titillation, and cultural drivel. (As if we “give” it in the first place; much of it is stolen by a clever algorithm out to monetize our precious attention.) But again: we become what we give our attention to, for better or worse.
John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry:
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