Time and energy

I've finally worked out why most Orthodox people aren't skeptics.

They don't have the time or the energy.

The past few weeks, between my baby, the chagim and some extra hours at work, I've barely had time to think about my plans for tomorrow, let alone my evolving world view I feel like a zombie who's only just starting to wake up.

Life is always hectic though, and I seriously do wonder if that's a reason (obviously it wouldn't be the only one) why people stick with the status quo. The just don't have the time or the energy to imagine anything different. Life just keeps throwing the punches and if you don't roll with them, you'll get overwhelmed.

It makes me think of one of my late relatives who used to read trashy novels to relax. She liked a particular author whose name I can't remember, but they weren't exactly romance novels. They were sort of intertwined stories about different people and how they affected each other. That's not a great description, but never mind. She loved those novels but her main criticism was that they weren't true to life because the characters had so much "get up and go". They decided what they wanted, and if they wanted to change their lives, they just went ahead and did it and smoothed it over with their families easily.

Real life just isn't like that. There are repercussions to our actions, and it's so easy to be dishonest with yourself. You can go through the motions in Judaism surprisingly easily, considering how demanding a religion it is. And there are many things that, until recently, I simply never thought about. It's easy not to think. And that's why, when you do, it's such a rude awakening. Because you realize that it was all there in front of you and you just never noticed.

Wake me slowly next time, that's all I ask.


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