By the Way: The ancient art of lying fallow
By REV. OZ LORENTZEN on September 18, 2021.
I’m thinking of lying fallow, probably a product of the encroachment of fall – a season that signals the coming slumber of the earth. I am also thinking of COVID as a time of enforced “rest,” as a season of lying fallow, for our culture. Since, however, the value of rest (of lying fallow) is not a prominent feature of our culture, we may need some help identifying this imposed slowing down as something beneficial. The idea that a season of lying fallow is beneficial comes from agricultural practices and reflects the wisdom of the ancient world – a wisdom born of necessity that lived in harmony with the rhythms of nature. Today, because technology has eliminated the necessity of such a lifestyle, we mostly live as if we were not limited by our nature and the natural world. As just one example, we take pills (or substances) to wake us up, and pills/substances to put us to sleep. We want to power through in the pursuit of our goals, ideals, ambitions: and hang the consequences – the toll, emotional, mental, physical and relational. I wonder if we have lost something crucial in our frenetic pace and frantic lifestyle. Perhaps COVID is an invitation to remember the bigger picture, to see our lives, our desires, our frustrations in a broader context. The ancient writer counsels us to inquire about the ancient ways, with the promise that those paths will bring rest. Not all cessation of activity, however, is restful. With all the imposed “rest” through restrictions of activities, etc., I am not confident that we have really rested at all. To be honest, I feel very weary! Perhaps, I need to look more fully into the ancient art of lying fallow. Rev. Oz Lorentzen is from St. Barnabas Anglican Church 9-8
