Not the place i want to be

It's past 2 am. I went to sleep about 3 hours ago, but was rudely kept awake by noise from the kitchen next door. Now i can't sleep as in my mind i conclude, this is not the place i want to be.

This conclusion is not only based on just the noise that kept me up tonight, but more so the noise of the society surrounding me. Constant noise from restless masses where little peace can be found. Busyness of life, people running in a rat race, to learn, to earn, and to consume their lives as fast as they can. And when a rare moment of 'rest' is found, it is consumed 'together' by bowing to a medium we have come to call TV.

We have turned into consumers, not producers. We expect to be entertained by others, rather than take time to create something ourselves. We look at the surface without looking at what's beneath, we have become superficial with all the people that we meet. 'How are you doing?' has become a polite catch phrase, rather than a genuine question we ask one another. We have consumed our time chasing materal things and skewed values that fail to bring us closer to one another, be it with family or friends.

It leads me to ask, what are we made of? What has been woven into the tapestry of our lives? Have we allowed the surrounding noise to weave us into society's standard pattern, or are we woven into a more unique pattern, created in deep contemplation, which requires peace, quiet and rest. But true rest, where our inner soul truly rests, has become so elusive to find.

So where is this rest found? As i've spent these past 2 weeks in this crazy metropolis, i see it's not easy to find rest here. Nor is it always easy to find rest in a more quiet places, as our minds are intertwined by the busyness and worries of this world. How do we free ourselves from this? Where can we find true rest?

'Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest' is the invitation Jesus gave (Matt 11:28). He seems to know something about what should be woven into mankind's tapestry. He sees our need to be unwoven from all the busyness that entangle us and keeps us from finding true rest, and desires to weave a much different pattern to the tapestry to our lives.

So how do we find this rest? We need to stop, listen and look for the deeper and richer threads of life, and somehow allow Him to weave a more beautiful design.