DigitalRob reviewed Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Lots of Great Take-Aways for Enjoying Life - Even for an Agnostic
4 stars
I struggled with the star rating on this book, waffling between three and four. In the end, I settled on four because I think Comer’s insight into the world of rush is spot on.
At this point in my life, when religion comes up, I usually tell folks I’m a non-practicing Catholic, but really I’m much more agnostic. I’ve tried atheism, but it didn’t fit me. I just kept talking to the universe. It’s my lack of Christian faith that had me leaning toward the three, but this book isn’t written for agnostics, even spiritual ones, so I went with the four.
Comer divides this book into three parts: The Problem, where he defines hurry, its history, and symptoms; then The Solution, where he discusses the need to slow down and the benefit of an easy yoke; and finally Part 3: The Four Practices for Unhurrying your Life.
Ironically, I …
I struggled with the star rating on this book, waffling between three and four. In the end, I settled on four because I think Comer’s insight into the world of rush is spot on.
At this point in my life, when religion comes up, I usually tell folks I’m a non-practicing Catholic, but really I’m much more agnostic. I’ve tried atheism, but it didn’t fit me. I just kept talking to the universe. It’s my lack of Christian faith that had me leaning toward the three, but this book isn’t written for agnostics, even spiritual ones, so I went with the four.
Comer divides this book into three parts: The Problem, where he defines hurry, its history, and symptoms; then The Solution, where he discusses the need to slow down and the benefit of an easy yoke; and finally Part 3: The Four Practices for Unhurrying your Life.
Ironically, I found more solutions in part 3 than in the section titled The Solution. At first Comer talks about boredom, something we’ve lost touch with and some youth have never really experienced, then he moves into the four practices: Silence & Solitude (a crux of this is clarifying the difference between solitude and isolation - Hurried people are often isolated even during a quiet time), Sabbath (literally meaning to stop and delight), Simplicity, and Slowing. (The five S’es?).
Comer states that not every idea in this book will work for every person, but he encourages his readers to take away what they can fit into their lives. For myself, I’ll try to practice some sort of sabbath, which might look a lot like brief meditation breaks - no electronics, no headphones, no screens, just stopping everything and delighting in where my brain takes me.
One final take away from this book is that a life of hurry and a life of love are incompatible. We cannot hurry through appreciating each other, so it is incumbent upon us to slow down, so we can love each other.
Side Note: Social media doubles down on hurry and restlessness. It might provide a nice jolt of dopamine, but it provides no love.