Yesterday, I preached a message called "Pouring Oil and Wine." It was a message about discovering and releasing the "oil and wine" the Lord has placed within us into the wounds and hearts of those "half-dead" around us.
I read this commentary this morning and found certain parts that really accentuated parts of the word I gave. I have been pondering this line of thought for a while.
Fighting the cultural numbing of our heads and hearts. Learning to awaken more refined pleasures and pursuits. Seeking to not be dulled so much by the artificial that I no longer can be moved by the natural.
I think these parts are worthy to meditate on...

"When stimulation comes at us from every side," he writes, "we reach a point where we cannot respond with much depth to anything. Bombarded with so much that is exciting and demands our attention, we tend to become unable to discriminate and choose from among the many options. The result is that we shut down our attention to everything." That is, we get bored.Over-stimulated and bored, we start looking for anything that will give our jaded spirits a lift.

We must recover a sense of passion and wonder.

"Finding interest and joy in life involves active engagement with the world. . . . The person who wants to be involved with life knows that it is necessary to move toward someone or something, to want to understand and know."