How we answer this question is important according to theologian David F. Ford, the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.
In his book The Shape of Living: Spiritual Directions for Everyday Life, Ford talks about being overwhelmed by everday life and how we choose to deal with it will affect the outcome, or shape of our lives. I have just started the book, but so far it is really good and what he advises is the wisdom I have been searching for in these busy days.
When it comes to being overwhelmed Ford prescribes three imperatives: Name It, Describe It, Attend to the Shape of Living. In this book Ford reflects on his own experiences, the experiences of others, the Scriptures and the poetry of Micheal O’ Siadhail. Ford says, “I find the current expanding popularity of poetry very important: The more overwhelming life becomes, the more we need the creativity of the best minds and imaginations. Poetry at its best has wrestled with the great overwhelmings, and out of that engagement has shaped a language through which we too can respond.”
