Dealing with distractions

WE cannot deny that we are at present wallowing in all forms of distractions. We have the Internet, the social media craze, riveting sports, ever-creative fashion trends, the wellness madness, not to mention, our absorbing work and other legitimate concerns that can also take us away from our proper and ultimate goal.

 

For that is what distractions are. They take us away from our real destination who is God. They, of course, have legitimate value, but unless related to God, that value becomes false and dangerous. That’s the problem we have, the trick and the snare that we have to be most careful about.

We have to be guarded against our tendency to be easily taken by them. For this, we need to discipline our feelings and passions. We have to give directions to our thoughts. But most importantly, we have to ground our heart on the rich, fertile soil of faith, hope and charity.

That’s why we should feel the constant need for some forms of self-denial, mortification and penance, so that our senses and our entire bodily system would be purified and in a way exercised to be more attentive to the things of God, to the spiritual and supernatural realities. Otherwise, they would just be immersed in the world of food, drinks and other worldly pleasures.

We have to convince ourselves that all this effort is all worthwhile. With patience and perseverance in this effort, we will soon realize that the joy God and the spiritual and supernatural realities give us cannot be compared to whatever pleasures the world can give.

As to our thoughts, we have to frequently examine ourselves as to what their contents and directions are. Are they just revolving around ourselves? Are they hooked only on the worldly standards of effectiveness and efficiency, profitability, fame, power, etc.? We have to see to it that our thoughts begin and end with God.

Let’s always remember what Christ himself reassured us. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt 6,33) We should not be deceived by the false glitter of fame and wealth that the world likes to bait us with.

With respect to our heart, the very seat of our being, we should see to it that it beats only with love for God that gives us the proper love for others and for everything else. When it is truly nourished by faith, hope and charity, it would know how to see and understand things properly, it would know how to react and behave.

We need to spend time and to exert effort to conform our heart to the heart of Christ, so that its instincts, attitudes and motivations would be those of Christ. Our heart, like Christ’s, would know how to blend the material and spiritual aspects of our life, the temporal and eternal, the mundane and the sacred, the here-and-now and the ultimate.

St. Charles Borromeo, a valiant reformer during the messy years of our Church history in the 16th century, can give us some ideas on how to deal with the many distractions hounding us today.

He advised: “Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time and so give God more pleasing worship?

“Listen, and I will tell you. If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can. Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter.”

It’s clear that we need to spend time with Christ in prayer with the view of making him alive in us all the time. We have to aim at becoming true contemplatives even while in the middle of the world, with all its hustle and bustle. This ideal is not only possible, but highly practicable if we only care to learn and to persist in it.

Let’s remember that Christian life is not just a matter of memorizing certain doctrine and trying our best to live by them. This is, of course, needed. But Christian life is more having an intimate relation with Christ who is always with us. Christian life is an abiding encounter with Christ.

This is how we can effectively deal with distractions.