AUGUST 16
Like an ant on a stick both ends of which are burning,
I go to and fro without knowing what to do,and in great
despair...
Graciously look upon me.
Thy love is my refuge. Amen.
—TRADITIONAL PRAYER,
INDIASomeone was once described as “having lost his sense of
purpose and therefore redoubled his speed.”
Sometimes we are like that—frantically hurrying about
in the vain hope that if we are very busy, we will somehow
anesthetize ourselves and not hurt so much.
There is some point in being busy—one gets tired and is
able to sleep. And maybe if we are very busy doing some-
thing for others, we will forget our own pain for a while.
But sometimes the activity is purposeless—just a way to
keep busy, as though that would take care of it.
But busyness doesn’t take care of it, and so despair—as
well as physical and emotional fatigue—takes its toll and
we are worse off than before.
The source of healing is not rushing around, but that
calming assurance that love is at the heart of life, and is both
our refuge and the source of our strength to go on.
I will stop my frantic busyness and reconnect with my source of
strength.