Formation of the Family

Our priest told us a story during his homily this Sunday and it went something like this: A couple of American reporters were working with some people from a tribe in Brazil.  For three days they were moving from place to place at a rather quick speed (you could probably call it an "American speed").  The next day the Americans got up and noticed that the tribesmen weren't moving...they were just sitting.  This went on for awhile, at which point the Americans started to become restless.  One of the Americans asked, "Aren't we going to get moving?  Why are we just sitting here?"  to which one of the Brazilians replied, "We are waiting for our souls to catch up to our bodies." How often have you felt as if your soul needed to catch up to your body?  I'm not sure if I ever thought of it quite like that, but I can definitely say that I've felt like part of me is rushing through life while the rest of me is lagging a few days behind.   There are those days where I just ache to sit down and stare off into space while the rest of me catches up.  Of course, sitting still does put one at risk of nodding off, but if I do manage to stay awake, I end up with that relentless list of things I need to do just running through my head, so I feel guilty and move on. That is what is wrong with our culture.  We are indoctrinated with the idea that if we are not doing something, we are wasting time.  But even Jesus took time for "His soul to catch up with His body"; sometimes even 40 days! So we can ask, what is wrong with 40 minutes?  Why not sit and enjoy the sunshine, or the children playing, or the chaos that might be surrounding you at that moment?  Sounds good, doesn't it?  However, I find that I have such a hard time silencing my brain and my body so that my soul can catch up.  I bet that accounts for why...