Today is another travel day, from Cinque Terre to Rome by train. As we are waiting for our first train in Monterosso al Mare, I ask Amber, “Am I too content?” I am in a strange place. We have plans for each day. The past two days was hiking specific trails, exploring the towns, and getting into the Mediterranean. However, I find myself not caring if plans get changed. In fact, I am so content, I truly don’t care what we do or if we do anything for that matter. Thus, am I too content? Learning to just be or be still and know God is very important in the spiritual life. We Americans are awful at just being. Thus, we don’t know how to be still and be before God. Our minds are always working, our rhythm to life tells us to be productive, get things done. We often need stimulation. Thus we quickly go to the cell phone, turn on the TV, or just want noise to fill a quiet space. To truly be still before God opens up God’s majesty, enables a deeper peace, fills us up with God’s great compassion and love. Thus, it’s important to learn to be content, to not always crave move, need more to fill you. This enables God to be the one that truly fills.
On the flip side, I am in a place where I don’t care what happens. This also does not seem great because in faith we should have great care for the world, others and God’s will. There is a line in the movie Hotel Rwanda that is absolutely condemning to American life. The genocide and atrocities happening in the country are finally caught on news camera. The main character states that finally when the world sees these atrocities, they will come and act. The news reporter responds, “Yes, as they eat dinner they will see this on the news. They will cry out that is awful. This should not happen. Then they will go back and finish their dinner.” (This is my memory of the line). Now of course, this kind of apathy does not have to relate to contentment. We can live very non-content lives centered on self and thus be apathetic to the plight of others and our world except to the point it affects me. In our current society, this may be the greater source of apathy. As contentment in society seems also to be rare. However this does not change my present question. Am I too content? For Christians, contentment cannot turn into apathy. I must care. Love demands that we care. Maybe, this is the result not of contentment but being tired. We have done a great deal over these past 2 months. Maybe it’s catching up with me.
After a day of traveling, we finally get to Rome. The hotel is about 30 minute walk away so we pull our luggage behind us and find ourselves hiking again. We chose well. This hotel is really nice. We finish the evening with dinner and our first Roman piazza and fountain. Tomorrow will be amazing. We are going to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel.
