“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”. John 14:27

Some days, it is impossible not to feel the pervading anxiety of the long to-do list of life, not only the one in front of us, but all those other things we may have forgotten. In 2024, we are surrounded by an ever increasing mass of information and there is always a pervasive anxiety about what we might be missing. Friends recount films, books and podcasts all of which hold infinite interest to me, but when will I find the time to watch, read or listen to these nuggets of recommendation? There is also a sense of guilt that comes with this. I find myself feeling a sense of how little I know about anything. However, so much of our days are spent quite trivially, and it is hard not to be subsumed with day-to-day living, with its strain of rich information that doesn’t allow much time for thinking more holistically about the concerns in the world we all share.

There is some ingrained richness within me from the privilege of childhood time spent with my dad wandering around museums, libraries and bookshops. So now in my middle years, just glancing through a bookshop makes me realise how much of life is spent distracted from thoughtful silence and learning. A friend visited Edinburgh Fringe this year and listened to a set from a comedian who jokes that between the school run, and when he was supposed to be writing he was really responding to messages and social media. A whole day can be spent not getting to the point. The addictive nature of feeling connected via our phones makes them a relentless force in our day-to-day living.

We may simply say the answer here is to switch off our phones and create good routines. I appreciate and don’t discount the advice of every health and lifestyle guru here, but being as I am like a small child at Christmas, I always want to take a peak. Alongside this there is also the happy act of multi-tasking that our phone has given us. It is no longer like the 1950s when dictating a letter was a singular task in itself. We now find ourselves in a time when the cat is out of the bag, and our phone has given us the infinite pleasure of multi-tasking and thinking about or exploring so many things at once. It’s almost now a quest to hit the go slow key, or imagine that life is built on steps. Like stepping stones across a river, the pathway is not straightforward and you have to concentrate in order not to slip.

There are, however, the beginnings of a realised backlash. Schools such as The Ormiston Academy, which runs 42 schools in England, are prohibiting the use of phones at school so that pupils can focus on their learning and teaching. There are cases though where parents have found this difficult, for instance, those children with health needs where the app on a phone works to manage a child’s diabetes. In these moments we can see how technology has worked so effectively as a pairing partner to live our lives more safely and with time sensitive efficiency. The danger though is that these advancements are perhaps making our ability to make intuitive judgements harder, as we are so focused on precision rather than feeling the moment.

Perhaps we can look to animals for a little guidance here. It is said that, for instance, a dog’s sense of smell not only sits with what is current in the world of smell but also smells from the past all wrapped together heightening its enquiry. There is something so interesting about the sensory focus, many a dog owner will tell you that there is no such thing as a quick walk as dogs want to stop and smell everything. Maybe we could all take a leaf from that book, as we light a candle or a fire during the colder nights, just allowing ourselves the time to absorb our immediate environment and see what our surroundings can imbue in us, unaided by any kind of external information or entertainment.

As we give pause to our distractions, that in itself brings us the peace to stay still and be held in the moment by the lightest of touch, anxiety-free and content.