Paying Attention/Reverence

From An Altar In The World by Barbara Brown Taylor, this relating to paying attention/Reverence:

“The practice of paying attention really does take time.  Most of us move so quickly that our surroundings become no more than the blurred scenery we fly past on our way to somewhere else.  We pay attention to the speedometer, the wristwatch, the cell phone, the list of things to do, all of which feed our illusion that life is manageable.  Meanwhile, none of them meets the first criterion for reverence, which is to remind us that we are not gods.  If anything, these devices sustain our illusion that we might yet be gods – if only we can find some way to do more, faster.

“Reverence requires a certain pace.  It requires a willingness to take detours, even side trips, which are not part of the original plan.”

What jumps out at me there is “the illusion that life is manageable.”  I would expound on that but I need to answer my cell phone while looking at the speedometer and my wrist watch and composing my list of things to do today.  But to fill any possible unoccupied space of time I’ll look on my phone for the Alabama song I’m In A Hurry written by Roger Murrah and Randy VanWarmer.

“I’m in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun.  All I really gotta do is live and die.  But I’m in a hurry but don’t know why.”