What Happens When We Stop Living?
Exorcising Preaching Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship
The question is not,
“What happens when we die?”
Nobody really knows.
The real question is,
“What happens when we stop living?”
The stoicism we face on a daily basis
is a symptom of a larger illness
called a dually-dulled life.
Our lives can be hypnotized
by the monotonous commutes,
multiplied by the flickering florescent light
that falls upon the micromanaging boss
who thinks everything you do in your cubicle
is an extension of his or her power.
Who here is dying a slow and numbing death?
There’s no time to be lulled by monotony.
There is no time to be blaming
other people for our own feelings.
If you don’t like it, change it.
There’s no time for crying, or complaining,
or gossiping, or clinging to that fashionable grudge bag.
No. It is time to wake up, to rise up,
and to carry ourselves into a day worth living.
Let us live one day—this day—
with passion and a sense of collective synergy.
Let us live one day—this day—
by asking questions that truly challenge us
and make us feel alive.
For today’s question is not
“What happens when we die?” it is
“What happens when we stop living?”
Source: "Exorcising Preaching"
“What Happens When We Stop Living?” excerpted from Nathan C. Walker (2014) Exorcising Preaching: Crafting Intellectually Honest Worship. St. Louis: Chalice PressDate added | |
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Tagged as |
1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), Belief, Calling, Challenge, Change, Character, Direct Experience, Easter, Gratitude, Homecoming / Ingathering, Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Reading, Respect, Trust, Unitarian Universalism, Worth, Yom Kippur
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