We have taller buildings,
but shorter tempers;
wider freeways,
but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less;
We buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses
and smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgment;
more experts, but more problems;
more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much,
spend too recklessly, laugh too little,
drive too fast, get too angry too quickly,
stay up too late, get up too tired,
read too seldom, watch TV too much,
and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions,
but reduced our values.
We talk to much, love too seldom,
and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;
We've added years to life, not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street
to meet the new neighbor.
We've conquered outer space,
but not inner space.

We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less.
We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information
to produce more copies than ever,
but have less communication.

These are the times of
world peace, but domestic warfare;
more leisure, but less fun;
more kinds of food, but less nutrition.
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce;
of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers,
throwaway morality, one-night stands,
overweight bodies, and pills that do
everything from cheer to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window
and nothing in the stockroom;
It is a time to reconsider

A FEW MOMENTS OF MEDITATION