Time To Think

Psalm 119:130-131 says, "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I opened my mouth and panted, for I longed for Your commandments."

I go throughout my day and continually observe people bombarding themselves with information. We use the cell phones, the PDA's, the Internet, the iPods, the CD's, the radio, the television, newspapers, magazines, books, IM and more. It seems there is a constant moving of information and inputs to our brain.

The first thing that comes to mind when I see this is how disconnected it makes us from the people we're with. Parents in a restaurant on their cell phones, ignoring their kids. Kids using iPods to ignore their parents. It's hard to have relationship with someone when you're not communicating with them. But there is a larger issue here. Perhaps it's even more critical than the relationships that all this communication and information costs us. When do people think?

I grew up in a Quaker church. It's not a religion that I recommend, but it has its virtues. The Quakers have a story that illustrates the point I am trying to make. It's about a conversation between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and a Quaker woman he had met. Maybe Coleridge was boasting a bit, but he told the woman how he had arranged the use of time so he would have no wasted hours. He said he memorized Greek while dressing and during breakfast. He went on with his list of other mental activities--making notes, reading, writing, formulating thoughts and ideas--until bedtime. The Quaker listened unimpressed. When Coleridge was finished with his explanation, she asked him a simple, searching question: "My friend, when dost thee think?"

Many years ago I achieved my first executive position. I was the CEO of a mortgage company owned by a wealthy private investor in New York City. His name was David Schuldiner. He was a wiry little Jewish fellow with an interesting personality. It was hard to take him seriously because most of the time he seemed so eccentric. But he taught me a very important lesson.

One day he phoned from New York to see how I was doing. I went on and on, telling him what I was doing. Finally, he said, "Larry, you know what's wrong with you people down there (in Dallas)? You never take time to think! You just need to shut your door, unplug your phone, and sit and think some!" I was startled by his remarks. I guess I was expecting him to be impressed with all that I was doing. I had been busy as busy can be. But he wasn't impressed. Worse yet, as I thought about what he'd said --- I knew without a doubt that he was correct. I didn't take time to think.

As I decided to take time to think, I started to change my ways. Turn off the radio in the car. Don't take headphones when going out for a walk. Watch the clouds. They were simple, little changes that maybe nobody would notice. But I began to look for ways to "shut my door, turn off my phone and think." When I would go on business trips, I would find myself alone in a hotel room in the evening. I began to look forward to those times. They began to look like "thinking retreats." I still actually quite enjoy the solitude of a hotel room with the TV off. It gives me time to think.

When I think, it seems that God speaks. It's unmistakably God. And I've pointed out that its usually profound, and often contrary to who I have believed I am. Fresh new perspectives come to me. Painful convictions get dealt with. Focus on who (and what) I love becomes very clear. I learn to be content with my circumstances. Those times become cherished moments. I wish that everyone I love could have those times in their life. Shut your door, turn off the phone (and other electronics) and take some time to think.