What Is the Structure of Your Life Supporting?
By emilie boggis.
“Go placidly amid the noise and haste.”
These words greet all who enter and exit my house. At some significant life event, my late father presented me with a framed artistic rendering of Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata - Words for Life. We certainly live in a world of noise and haste. Maybe it has always been so? With each new technological advance, the push is felt to move more quickly, to work harder, and to grow louder. Otherwise, they say, you aren’t winning at the game of life. On a more existential level, your very worth is questioned.
While faith leaders and faith communities are expected to be “above it all,” we too are of this world of noise and haste. We too face “loud and aggressive persons” and a “world of trickery.” It causes within us “vexations of the spirit” such as ever growing cynicism, vanity, and bitterness as well as “dark imaginings,” born of “fatigue and loneliness.” Just ask those who are leaving both pew and pulpit. Even communities of faith can feel like all noise and no hope.
My Enneagram coach recently asked, “What is the structure of your life supporting?” My brain went a bit sideways trying to negotiate the question’s meaning. Does the structure of our lives, she was asking, support the noise and haste? Or is the structure rooted in going placidly? What are we prioritizing?
As a spiritual director and pastoral supervisor at LeaderWise, I often hear from clients that our hour together is the one time every month when they can slow down and reconnect with the still, small voice within. The one time.
The gift of one-to-one support allows us to restructure our lives. In spiritual direction, our sacred time in the presence of the Holy connects us to a deeper truth: “You are a child of the universe, / no less than the trees and the stars; / you have a right to be here.” We are more than our accomplishments or failures. In reflective pastoral supervision, the clarity we gain around the issues that arise connects us to the promises we made to the mission and people we serve: “whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.” In coaching, the knowledge, tools, and skills we gain help us overcome challenges: “Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.” In counseling, we take great care with our well-being, knowing that not only must we work through our own hardships but we also witness and accompany others through their tragedies: “be gentle with yourself.” Why would we structure our lives to go it alone?
What is the structure of your life supporting? “With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.” Invest in the beauty, even as you live and work among the brokenness. We, at LeaderWise, are here to accompany you. May you go placidly; may you strive to be happy.
Journalist Derek Thompson recently named this the Anti-Social Century. Americans are spending more and more time alone. Our “aloneness” is reshaping our realities. It is certainly changing our ministry contexts. Throughout this year, LeaderWise writers will share their outlooks on our Anti-Social Century and what we can do to build a culture of connection.
Interested in other articles on the Culture of Connection?
2025 Resolution Against Loneliness by Mary Kay DuChene
Ingredients for Connection: Solitude & Connectedness by Becca Fletcher
Creating Time for Connection by Cindy Halvorson
Am I Safe Here? From LeaderWise’s Leadership Team
It’s Not Easy Being New by emilie boggis
The Best Scones You Ever Tasted by Stephanie Hoover
Who Do You Know? by Laura Beth Buchleiter
Starting from Scratch by emilie boggis
One Room at a Time by Mike Hotz
Weave Real Connections by Alicia Forde
The Value of Leaders Being Together in Community by Heather Koshiol
