Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

spiritchatter

Home
Progressive Christian
The Power of Regularity

The Power of Regularity

Last updated on: June 27, 2013 at 9:03 pm by Jack Levison

The Power of Regularity 2013-06-27T21:03:51-07:00 Jack Levison

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Three old men—one 70, one 80, another 90—are sitting on a park bench. The 70 year old says, “Geeze. I don’t know what to do. Every morning I stand there and try to clear my bladder—and nothing. A drop or two. I’m disgusted.”

They sit for a while longer, then the 80 year old says, “Yeah. I don’t know what to do either. Every morning I sit there and try to eliminate—and nothing. I grunt. I groan. Nothing. I’m disgusted, too.”

They sit even longer, then the 90 year old says, “I’m disgusted with the both of ya’. Me? By 7 my bladder is dry. By 8, I’ve eliminated last night’s dinner. I’m as regular as the sunrise every morning. My only problem is, I don’t get up until 9.”

The power of regularity

The other day I met for coffee with a 30 year old SPU graduate who won gold and bronze medals last weekend for crew. You think she managed this with occasional workouts? Nope. She’s out on the quiet waters of Lake Union three days a week at 5 AM.

The power of regularity

When Priscilla and I were teaching at Duke, we heard about a player from Anchorage, Alaska, who practiced basketball outside in the winter. Duke standout Trajan Langdon recalled later in Sports Illustrated: “The temperature outside would be 0° if I was lucky, and there would be at least six inches of snow on the ground. So I would throw on a hat, boots and gloves, grab a ball and start shooting at a driveway basket that had a frozen net.” It worked. Duke fans called Trajan “the Alaskan Assassin.”

The power of regularity

At graduation this year, I talked with an alumna who wants to be a writer about showing up. Every day. To write. So I gave her practical goals: draw up a regular schedule, revise a longish paper in three paragraphs, send it to me within seven days. I’m still waiting. Eventually, if she wants to write, she’ll learn that regularity trumps inspiration every time.

Why not spirituality?

I had dinner the other night with a group of Christian students from a Korean university, where Christianity is thriving. You think they meditate when they feel like it, open their Bible when the spirit moves them? Nope. One student told me about their two hour prayer meetings every weekday morning, from 6 until 8 AM. Another told me they read through the Bible (that’s not “read the Bible” but “read through the Bible”) on a regular basis.

The power of regularity

What prompted me to think so much about this topic was a Huff Post Live segment I participated in a few months back. I was the old guy, perched in people’s screens alongside three thirty-somethings, who talked about finding time occasionally, even haphazardly, maybe on a Thursday afternoon, to meditate.

I just don’t think that’s the path to a robust spirituality. Regularity is essential. Even ten minutes of prayer on a regular basis. Or ten minutes of reading a psalm on a regular basis. Or—yes, I’ll say a dirty word to many recovering evangelicals—memorizing a scripture verse on a regular basis.

I read once in a fascinating book, Three Big Bangs, about London taxi drivers who have a heightened sense of direction. Why? Because they use this sense all day, every day. Our brains are plastic, the author said, shaped by what we do. The brain changes, develops, gets stronger and weaker, based upon our habits. Taxi drivers in London aren’t born with a better sense of direction. They use the sense of direction they have on a regular basis.

Introduce regularity to your spirituality, and your brain, given its plasticity, can become more serene and less harried, more focused and less scattered—qualities that are essential for developing a robust spirituality.

By the way, a lifelong, serious and sincere medical missionary in Bolivia, who, alongside his wife, has spent his entire adult life among the native poor, told me that joke. We were sitting on a picnic table in the back yard of his parents’ home about 25 years ago. I think he heard it (warped doctor humor) when he was a resident at Cook County Hospital. He told it to me when the idea of being an “old guy on a park bench” was a lot farther away than it is now.

spiritual disciplines

spirituality

Previous Post

June 21, 2013

First Breath

Next Post

July 11, 2013 Stumbling Upon Silence: Our reflections on Sheridan Voysey's Resurrection Year

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 March 2017 February 2017 February 2016 December 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Jezebel" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Lord reigns Queen of the people Unexalted Daughter of Baal