"Rapidification"

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J.M.J.

shoppingscout.com

In his latest encyclical, Pope Francis brought up a new term that I think he sort of made up: rapidification. This term refers to the frenzied chaos that humans create for themselves. The never-ending drive to do more and be more to the tune of faster, faster, faster! Society pressures us to do this! Go to school now, full-time, while balancing a full-time job. While you're at it, find the ideal spouse, marry them, and have two children that can grow up and do the same thing. Get a move on. Faster, faster, faster. Never mind that you will get burned out, stressed out to the max, and you'll never see your family. Go and do. Go and be the star employee. No matter what the cost, you have to do more and be more for everyone, all the time. What are you waiting for? GO! 

It never ends. No matter what age you are, the demands never stop. Take a look at where those demands are coming from. From God? No. Pope Francis points out that the rhythm of nature is slow and unfolds naturally. Society doesn't benefit from the frenzied chaos that we're pumping out at maximum speeds. It just becomes more chaotic. Crazier! The more you've got on your plate, the more stressed out you'll feel.

I love this whole concept that Pope Francis presented because I feel like finally, someone is giving me permission to slow down. My whole life, I've felt that the pressure is on. It's commendable to do your best at all times. However, it's not in harmony with God's holy will that you listen to all the pressures around you and pile on more and try to do it all speedier! Your faith, your family, and your whole life suffers! Don't try to tell me otherwise. I know this is the complete opposite of what the culture tells us. Guess what? Following God's will in this world is counter-cultural. Hop on for the ride. Slow down and let yourself breathe. No one is benefiting from your frenzy. You owe it to yourself and your vocation in life, whatever that is right now, to stop this crazy rapidification. 

Find Pope Francis' encyclical here. 

Here is the portion of his encyclical that inspired me to write this post: 

"The continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled today with a more intensified pace of life and work which might be called 'rapidification'. Although change is part of the working of complex systems, the speed with which human activity has developed contrasts with the naturally slow pace of biological evolution. Moreover, the goals of this rapid and constant change are not necessarily geared to the common good or to integral and sustainable human development. Change is something desirable, yet it becomes a source of anxiety when it causes harm to the world and to the quality of life of much of humanity."

God bless you!

Stephanie