Low. Slow. Below

We live in a dog eat dog world where success is defined as that which is bigger, better, faster, fairer (yeah, I said it), and stronger.

I had the opportunity to interact with the author Paul E. Miller when I lived in the U.S. He peeled a sticky note off his computer and showed me the words 'Low, Slow, Hidden' on them and gave me a thirty second discourse on it. They were words which helped him root his life through the narrative of Jesus' life.

I couldn't get it off my head, ever since. As I tossed about in bed at night or was busy with work in the following days, I was repeatedly confronted by an alternate vision for what life should look like - low, slow, and hidden.

As much as I liked the phrase, I wanted to make it my own. Deliberating over it for a few days, I found myself drawn to the words 'Low. Slow. Below'. Yes, I did think this 'sounded' better than what Paul said. But I also allowed his words to marinate within and propose an inward compass for my life.

We live in a consumeristic world which celebrates that which is flashy, fancy and expensive. From garish wedding celebrations to the ostentatious watch one wears, we are told that the more you swipe your card and showcase an ornate life, the world follows you. Some have a disposable income to pull it off. And then there are the fools who don't and still try their hand at it.

The life of Jesus (and others like Buddha) depict a life closer to the ground. Jesus, in Paul's words, embraced peasant characteristics. He didn't use lofty words. He didn't politicize his miracles for any earthly benefit. He didn't pant after followers on a twitter page. In fact, he hung out and blended with the hoi polloi. As one among them. His life was closer to the ground - a life lived low.

In an era where we boast of everything from the number of things we can multitask in a given time to how the fast eats the slow (yep, there's a book on that), it is an accepted mantra that speed is king. The slower you are, the lesser you accomplish. As a ramification, we have also ended up as a generation with a crisis of focus and depth in our hands.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John showcase the life of Jesus, who seemed to calculatedly slow down and pay attention to those who were in front of him than hurry off to display the next miracle. Jesus connected deeply and seemed to be deliberately slow.

Human kind have a penchant to be hanging out with those who seem to be getting ahead in life. Progress is what we're about. It's about the survival of the fittest. Those who can't make the cut gets pushed to the sidelines. Even the sweetest of people get swayed by this tantalizing rhythm.

But Jesus seemed to intensely seek after those who were marginalized, ostracized and pushed out by the system. He located and identified himself with the underside of the society. His life seems to operate from below.

Low. Slow. Below. I am etching these into my heart, as a disciple of Jesus. In a world that is a hurtling towards demonic de-humanization, objectification and self-gratification, this way of life is not only counter cultural but necessary to live and be more human.