Someone once suggested to me, with a slightly dismissive gesture, as though the issue was simple and obvious, “We can’t turn back the clocks.” That statement has long since intrigued me. What does it mean, after all? It is the kind of thing we all grow up with, a bit like saying, “You can’t have breakfast without toast.” “You can’t go on a country walk without a GPS, heavens no.” We breathe in ideas like this without ever questioning them, and they become hardwired into us.
But again, what does it mean? Does this universal attitude suggest that to do anything that “looks” backwards is unacceptable? What does looking backwards mean? What is progress?
As the months have gone by since that passing comment, I have pondered whether we have it all lopsided. Our pursuits in life should have little relation to matters of “progress” or “backwardness.” Rather, our aim should be to reach for goodness and wholesomeness. Some prefer the word “holiness” — yes, all too true, but this might miss the point. We like to use these religious words. They make us feel grand and lofty. Sometimes, we need to simply focus on how we can become more truly human, more whole, more complete, more alive, so that the stagnant soil of our heart softens and becomes open to holiness.
Rather than asking, can we turn back the clock, we should ask, towards what should we turn our clock?
Is this new device (lifestyle, career, partner . . . ) making my life more peaceful? Does it help me pray? Is this enriching our family to live in the present, to be focused, to be still . . . to slow down? Does it introduce more silence into my life (that sweet, palpable silence. . . the sublime in the passing breath . . . God)?
I have become increasingly reticent about writing. I seem to have my hands tied up just trying to live, here in our little family, our little parish, and our little town. But I am encouraged to discover other writers with deeper insight and much more eloquence than I. I want to recommend Peco Gaskovski. What a joy to discover him! He has an excellent blog called: “Pilgrims in the Machine.” Here is an excerpt from his recent article: “From Digital Dependence to Analog Dickens: Practical Unmachining for the Christmas Season.”
“Two days ago our home was cast into utter darkness. The lights flickered ominously and then succumbed to the freezing rain that had been raging since the early afternoon. All was black and disorienting, so much so that the first question that popped into mind was “Where am I?” While just a moment ago, everyone in our household was going confidently about their tasks, all of us were now grasping about blindly for flashlights and candles. We gathered around the kitchen table, last year’s Christmas candles in our midst. Once it was clear that this was not just a momentary fluke, we prepared a cold meal of bread, ham, cheese, and leftovers, and enjoyed an unusual candlelight dinner. There was no hurry. All our usual avenues for work had ceased to exist. So we just sat and chatted, ate some ice cream (which the kids quickly realized would be the first casualty of the outage). The lack of electricity drew us all together, and provided a brief taste of what it must have felt like for our ancestors sitting near the hearth on autumn evenings like these.”
As for progress, we would do well to review the words of C. S. Lewis:
“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world it’s pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We’re on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on” (Mere Christianity).