Time well spent

Monday September 15, 2008- It has been 48 hours since Hurricane Ike blew through the city of Houston. It seems as though for the most part Houston has weathered the storm relatively well. The most obvious result of the storm is the massive power outage which occurred and which is still a major problem in Houston. As of Monday at 8:30am some 1.5 million homes are still without power and it seems by all accounts that it will be at least until the end of the week until this number is reduced by any substantial amount. According to Centerpoint energy it may be 3-4 weeks for some power to be restored.
I imagine this is what life was like in the 1930’s. It is relaxing reading and listening to the radio. I have not missed the TV as much as I had thought I would. I actually survived the entire weekend without watching ESPN. My son and I though did go out and catch a bit of the Patriots game. I have realized how much our society is addicted to energy. The gas lines and the constant search for electricity which everyone is on so they can recharge their cell phones and lap tops is really quite ridiculous. Civilization went on for 5000 years with no energy(electricity and gas) and yet somehow accomplished great things. The Pyramids were built, the entire Bible was written, the Christian faith reached the entire world, and the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were all written without energy. I think 50% of our energy consumption is simply for the creature comforts of people. I read an entire book on Saturday. Granted is was short, Animal Farm, 145 pages, but it was still the whole book. I am far better off for reading it than I would have been for watching 2 teams square off in some meaningless football game. The Russian Revolution and subsequent establishment of the Soviet empire satired in a story centered around an animal farm is brilliant. There are so many great books out there that go unread because of our constant need to rush around and fill our times with meaningless minutia. One can imagine why society was more spiritually inclined in times past. Sitting and thinking leads us to contemplating life’s questions. Down times makes reading the Bible much easier. No television and no power makes our reliance on God and Christ much easier. It should not nor does it have to be this way but it is simply the truth. Our society has become far less intellectual and thoughtful due to the constant barrage of information and busy time we occupy our days with. Lets all remember that in tragedy and poor circumstances can come valuable lessons and reminders. Here is to a loss of power and relying more on our minds than on electricity and gasoline…now where did I leave my copy of War and Peace?