Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Always Restless, Never Satisfied {Reflections}
Ever found yourself wishing you were anywhere but here? Whether it’s ducking out of a party, an unending workday, or the claustrophobic confines of an airplane, we've all felt that restless urge to be somewhere else. On this landmark 50th episode of Reflections, Mike and I, Ryan, kick off with a hilarious Jerry Seinfeld bit that perfectly captures our universal discontent with the present moment. From Seinfeld's comedic insights, we segue into our own travel escapades—like my recent whirlwind trip to Tanzania—highlighting the perpetual chase for contentment.
Join us as we unravel the comedy and truth behind our constant desire for the next thing. We question why we’re always in a rush to leave where we are, only to crave the very next destination. With a blend of humor, travel stories, and philosophical musings, we dig deep into the quirks of human nature and the existential quest for satisfaction. Celebrate our 50-episode milestone with us and maybe, just maybe, find a bit of solace in knowing that we’re all in this restless journey together.
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What is up everybody?
Speaker 1:My name is Ryan and welcome to our Reflections podcast. I'm in the studio with Mike Lauer. Dude, mike it is. Mike just told me it's episode number 50. What is up? Look at us, man. Hey, congratulations, we are 50 years old. No, that's actually not how it works. We are 50 episodes old. And, man, this one I'm actually kind of excited about.
Speaker 1:I was thinking about it all the while I was in Tanzania. I heard this Jerry Seinfeld bit. I think Jerry Seinfeld is so funny. I mean, he's hilarious. I didn't love the show Seinfeld, I don't know, it was just sort of too weird for me. I know, I know, but I like, I think Seinfeld himself is hilarious, but he's got this bit where he says nobody wants to be anywhere.
Speaker 1:He says, look, this is his bit. He says, look, this is his bed. He says the good thing about going out is that when you're out, you don't have to be out that long. And so you eventually get this feeling when you're out, like with friends or whatever, like hey, I got to be getting back, I got to get out of here, I got to get back and, like you did all this work to get out, and then, after you're out for a little while you're, but no matter where you are in life, he says at some point you want to get out of there. Like if you're at work, you want to get home. But when you're at home you're like I've been working all week, I've got to get out and go out and celebrate. Then you're out, you're like well, it's getting late, I've got to get back home now.
Speaker 1:And then Seinfeld says I've, you've got to get on the plane. So you stand in line on that darn jetway just so you can get on the plane. And the plane takes off. And then you're thinking to yourself the whole time the plane's in the air, like when do we land? I want to land, I've got to get on the ground, I'm going to get off the plane. Plane lands, I've got to get off the plane now, sort of the doors open and you're waiting for the People inappropriately line up in the aisle. They start jumping ahead in the line. What is it? Everyone's a problem, but anyway.
Speaker 1:Then he says look, nobody wants to be anywhere, nobody likes anything. This is a lie which is hilarious to me. And he says we're cranky and irritable and we're dealing with it all by constantly changing locations. I got to get here, I got to get there and then, when we're there, I don't want to be there anymore, I want to go over there. I got to get home, I got to get here and certainly, flying from here over to Tanzania.
Speaker 1:I was in Tanzania for two weeks a couple weeks ago and it's like you just want to get there and then, when you're there, you want to get to the next destination. We had a ton of travel time. We flew from here to New York, new York to Nairobi, nairobi to Dar es Salaam, then we drove from Dar es Salaam to Oringa, drove from Oringa to, finally, njombe, and it took us like three or four days of travel. I just want to get there, but it's crazy. This is so true. I thought he was spot on.
Speaker 1:We always want to be somewhere else and get through whatever it is that we're doing to get to the next thing. Only when we get there, we want to be somewhere else. And he's right. Nobody wants to be anywhere and nobody likes anything, as we said. So it raises the question why do we constantly want to be wishing, or why do we constantly wish we were somewhere else, like, why are we so discontent with the present moment or wherever we are at the time, like why can we never just be content or present or here? We're always wanting to get through this thing, to get to somewhere else and be somewhere else and again, only to get there to then want to be somewhere else after that.
Speaker 1:And it reminds me of one of my favorite stories in the Bible, when Moses is up on this mountain and he comes across this bush and the text says he sees the bush and he notices that the bush is burning, like it's on fire but it's not being consumed. And the question that a lot of the ancient rabbis asked was like, well, how long was he standing there to see that this bush is on fire but not being consumed? Like if you were to watch a fire, like out in your backyard you had like a bunch of wood and it's on fire. How long would it take you to realize, oh, that wood's not actually being consumed? It would take a while, I don't know seven, eight, nine, 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes. And so like, apparently Moses didn't have a ton going on. He's just staring at this fire, this bush is on on fire, not being consumed.
Speaker 1:And the rabbis say this, they say that the miracle is not that God talks to him in the bush or that the bush is on fire but not being consumed. Rather, the miracle was that Moses was present enough and didn't rush through the moment to get somewhere else, but that he's present enough to notice God in the bush. In other words, the miracle was that he had the attention span that was long enough to notice this thing. It's incredible, and I think it's an incredible story, not just today, because we're so inundated with technology and our attention spans are incredibly short, with TikTok and Instagram videos and Facebook Reels and these kinds of things. That's certainly true, but just our incessant desire to be somewhere else. And now we have the capacity with jet travel and car and everything's quick. We have the capacity to be anywhere and we want to be anywhere, but where we are.
Speaker 1:So here's my question today what would it look like for you to just be present, no matter the circumstances, wherever you are? Just to be there. If you're on a plane flying to wherever, just be there and try to. However, you can enjoy the moment, or at least be content in the moment and look, as it were, for like burning bushes all around you. What are the things we're missing by rushing through each moment and rushing past the people in our midst as we're rushing on to the next moment.
Speaker 1:And also, I think the question in my mind, too, is like what are we really running from? Why can't we be present? What are we really looking for in the next moment and why can't we find it in this moment? And what's going on inside of us that's just so discontented and unsettled. And what would it look like today to just slow down and be present, no matter where we are, and to stop rushing, because perhaps we're missing these burning bushes all around us? All right, that's it. That's all I've got. So notice the bushes today, the burning bushes. Slow down and be present, all right. Love you guys, peace.
Speaker 2:Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8.30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering. Or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg Peace.
