Being at Peace

I will refrain from ranting about the ruination of J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit, by that guy in Hollywood. I will, however, mention the fact that he revealed his true colors when he saw fit to refashion an epic tale into an action/adventure movie. Although they both have exciting aspects, that is about the only similarity between what Tolkien wrote and what Mr. Jackson did. It does reveal to us, though, something that few people recognize.

It reveals the modern obsession with thrills. You can call it, "action" or "excitement" or even "adventure", but modern man has so spread this habit that we almost presume that it was always this way. There is, in an odd way, an appreciation of "thrills" in all of us. No one likes being "bored" per se. Or do they?

It seems that in the modernist way of thinking, that boredom is the unforgivable sin, and everyone has to avoid it at all costs. I saw a movie recently about a group of nuns; but these were not normal nuns. These were Karate chopping, and Jiu Jitsu jumping, warrior nuns from the future. Seriously.

Aside from the corny nature of the idea itself (who really comes up with this stuff?), there is evident the idea that everything has to be exciting. Sadly, what many today do not realize is that there is great joy in things that are not exciting. I would go so far as to say (just like I have said it before) that there is a blessedness in being bored. A life that insists on everything being a thrill, leaves nothing to be thrilled about. Peace and quiet seem odd to the soul that seeks to be filled constantly with noise and activity.

This is not to say that all excitement is a bad thing; absolutely not! I am saying that the obsession with, and insistence upon, excitement is a bad thing. In this fast-paced and frenetic world we live in, we need to learn to settle and be at peace. It can be hard, but if we do not change our desires we will not be able to work at it at all. Our Lord said in the Psalms: "Be still and know that I am God".