“Excuse me sir, sorry to disturb you.” When is the last time you have been disturbed? The word “disturb” has a negative connotation. It is undesirable and is something that we often apologize for when we intrude upon someone else. We do not like to be bothered or interrupted. It takes us out of our comfort zone, invades our space, and disrupts the processes that we have put in place.
To disturb, as defined by Merriam-Webster, means to interfere with, to interrupt, to upset the natural balance, to destroy the tranquility of, to throw into disorder, and to put to inconvenience. I admit that none of these descriptions sound pleasant. But I believe that sometimes this is exactly what we men need.
As men, we are good at creating safety. This is part of our protector instincts. This is a great quality as we provide and maintain a safe environment for our family. But we also use this quality to develop protection around our insecurities. We put systems in place that safeguard uncomfortable moments, conversations, and interactions with others. We try not to steer away from the paved path that someone else set before us. We settle for being peacekeepers instead of peacemakers. We exhaust ourselves working during our prime years, the years our kids need our presence the most, with the intent of creating security for an unknown future.
We need to be disturbed every now and then. I am a believer in having systems in place in your life. I believe in routines and accountability. But I also believe that those systems should be causing you to grow, not to be stuck in autopilot or coasting in cruise control. I implore you not to be a robot. You were not designed this way. You were created by the Creator to be creative. If you are not being creative, then you are not functioning in your created purpose.
Men, be disturbed, be bothered. We need to be interrupted from the mundane in order to dream, to grow, and to pursue our purpose. It seems that for many men, their goal in life is to just sit down. They dream of sitting in a golf cart, on a boat, or in a recliner. If your biggest goal in life is to sit down for the last thirty years of your life then, you need to be disturbed. You need, as Sir Francis Drake wrote, “to dare more boldly.”
I will leave you with this poem. I hope that all of us men will find the “strength, courage, hope, and love” that is written of here.
A prayer by Sir Francis Drake.
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
“Disturb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disturb. Accessed 1 May. 2023.
