April 20 // Hurry is Violence on the Soul (and other quotes from The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry)

Quotes from The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

This week’s book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer is an easy, conversational read (or listen) that brings up some counter-cultural insights that could truly change your life.
Though this book is written from a Christian perspective, there’s wisdom in here that is applicable to everyone living in a fast-paced culture. Here are some key quotes followed by reflection questions:

• “Hurry is a form of violence on the soul.” (pg 47)
  “Hurry kills relationships. Love takes time; hurry doesn’t have it.” (pg 52)

  How have you seen a do-more/have-more/be-more attitude hurt you or people you know?

• “We achieve true inner peace when our schedules are aligned with our values.” (pg 220) Would you say this is true of you? Can your anxiety be caused by a disconnect between what you believe is most important and how you spend your time?

• Here’s a quote about how he feels during his weekly sabbath: “Something happens about halfway through the day, something hard to put language to. It’s like my soul catches up to my body. Like some deep part of me that got beat up and drowned out by meetings and email and Twitter and relational conflict and the difficulty of life comes back to the surface of my heart. I feel free.” (pg 175) Have you experienced this during a day of rest before?

We included more quotes at the bottom of this email, if you’re interested.

Picture Book Recommendations

Blue on Blue by Dianne White and illustrated by Beth Krommes is a gentle, vividly illustrated book about rain and mud. Reading it makes you feel peaceful and safe.

The ABC’s of Yoga for Kids by Teresa Power and illustrated by Kathleen Rietz is a picture book that works through the alphabet to show you why yoga poses are called what they are. (For example, your kids might say, “Ohhh, that’s why it’s called the boat pose.”) There’s also a set of cards and a poster. We use this book in our family yoga time.

Farewell to Shady Glade by Disney legend Bill Peet was one of my husband’s favorite stories as a kid, and now our kids love it, too. It’s a sweet tale about woodland animals who lose their home due to deforestation and find a new place together.

Story Prompt

Write about your perfect day at home. If you could spend a day any way you wanted to without leaving the house or spending any money, what would you do?

Hopefully there were some thought-provoking ideas for you here!

Warmly,

Hope and the Family Scripts team

More Quotes by John Mark Comer from The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Here are more quotes from The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry! You can also listen to Comer’s podcast with Jefferson Bethke, “Fight Hustle, End Hurry.” These resources are also helpful if you’re trying to start having a weekly day of rest or Sabbath.

“What you give your attention to is the person you become. Put another way: the mind is the portal to the soul, and what you fill your mind with will shape the trajectory of your character. In the end, your life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to.” (pg 55)

“Here’s my point: the solution to an overbusy life is not more time. It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.” (pg 62)

“A discipline is any activity I can do by direct effort that will eventually enable me to do that which, currently, I cannot do by direct effort.” (pg 109)

“Nine times out of ten, Sabbath is the best day of my week, no exaggeration. Every Friday night, after Sabbath dinner, we bake a giant cookie in a cast-iron pan, a full square foot of chocolate yumminess. Then we dump a carton of ice cream on the top, let it melt a little, and eat it all straight out of the pan—it’s some kind of symbolic nod to our unity as a family and our collective love of sugar. As we indulge, we go around the table and share our highlight of the week. I feel like a broken record because I almost always say, ‘Last Sabbath!’ Something spectacular usually has to go down to beat out the previous week’s Sabbath for joy.” (pg 173)