Our culture is defined by quantity, noise, and speed. We live for more, louder, and faster. We want more technology (and faster), more clothes, more food, more money. Culture tells us to fill our schedules to the brim and can’t even stand in a line or go to the bathroom without pulling out our phones to make sure we haven’t missed something. We live with perpetual noise, whether TV, radio, or music. Will we ever be able to breathe again?

The consequence of all of this is a sort of frenetic agitation and an inability to slow down, be quiet, and catch our breath.

Henri Nouwen said, “In the spiritual life, the word discipline means ‘the effort to create some space in which God can act.’ Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.”

Richard Swenson added, “We must have some room to breathe. We need freedom to think and permission to heal. Our relationships are being starved to death by velocity. No one has the time to listen, let alone love. Our children lay wounded on the ground, run over by our high-speed good intentions. Is God now proexhaustion? Doesn’t He lead people beside the still waters anymore?”

Here are a few questions worth considering:

• Do you ever spend time with God just listening?
• When do you completely relax?
• Are you perpetually stressed?
• When are you without your phone?
• Are you always exhausted?

Right now, wherever you are, take three big, deep breaths.

How does it feel? It is time to get off the treadmill and start living again. Honestly, we have been going so fast for so long, we will have to learn to breathe again. At first, slowing down is uncomfortable. We will feel naked without our phones for even a few minutes. Push through the discomfort. Too much is at stake to continue living breathless lives. Learn to breathe again.