Sacred spaces

On the way back home last night, I listened to a podcast with Bernard Henri-Levy, and he was talking to travel guide/talk-show host Rick Steves about his book "American Vertigo." The subject was on the differences between U.S. and French cultures, and Henri-Levy mentioned how the French make a break between work and home. The two are separate, while here, we seem not to be able to break away from the BlackBerry.

Really, how hard can it be to break away from the office? Shouldn't we all have a time and space for ourselves and our families, away from phones, email, faxes? I want a space and time where I can keep the world at bay for awhile. The world will always be there, ready to grab me and pull me back into the storm.

But it can be hard to achieve, because we are a striving people, we don't like sitting still. There's something inherently wrong with that. But what are we striving for? Things?

I heard another radio show host say that the recent sports scandals are symptomatic of our culture, of the striving for things we really don't need, or can't handle. The things in life can be nice, but it's the moments you remember.