No Off-Ramps
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.” — Exodus 31:15
This week, I read an article about Israel’s defense industry. The numbers were staggering.1 Last year, Israel exported a record $14.8 billion in weapons systems and military technology. More than half of those sales went to European countries. The article explained that ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and the wider region have increased global demand for Israeli weapons, surveillance systems, missile defense technologies, and military expertise.
The article did not celebrate this. It was simply describing reality. Still, I found myself holding many questions:
At what point would there be enough?
How many weapons would create security?
How much military spending would satisfy us?
How many enemies would have to disappear before nations stopped preparing for the next war?
The more I thought about those questions, the more I realized the article was not really about Israel. It was about a multi-trillion dollar global system of violence that no longer knows how to stop.
The sociologist Hartmut Rosa has a term for this: dynamic stabilization.2 The idea is simple. Modern societies stay stable only if they keep growing. Economies must expand. Consumption must rise. Productivity must speed up. If growth slows, institutions start to struggle.
After I learned that term, I started noticing it everywhere. Companies aim to increase profits every quarter. Universities look for more students. Social media companies want more attention. Politicians look for new crises. News organizations seek more engagement. Economic systems push for more consumption.
Standing still becomes dangerous. “Enough” becomes a threat. I think this is one reason so many people feel worn out. We are living inside systems that have no off-ramp.
Thinking about Rosa’s ideas made me remember the story of Pharaoh. In Exodus, Pharaoh is often seen as the villain, but the story is more complex. He leads one of the most advanced economies of the ancient world. Egypt’s wealth comes from grain, building projects, military strength, and a huge labor force. The whole system relies on constant output.
When the Hebrew people start to grow in number, Pharaoh does not see neighbors. He sees workers, productivity, and economic resources. So he demands more bricks. Then more bricks. Then the same number of bricks without providing straw. The machinery of Egypt cannot slow down because slowing down threatens the system itself.
God delivers the Hebrew people from that system. They pass through the sea. They leave the empire behind and enter the wilderness. In the wilderness, God begins teaching them how to live differently. Every morning manna appears, but only enough for the day. If they try to hoard it, it spoils. On the sixth day they gather enough for two days because on the seventh day they are commanded to rest.
The people have spent generations inside an economy of scarcity, production, and accumulation. They have learned to believe that survival depends on constant labor. They know how to make bricks. They do not yet know how to be free.
This is why the command to remember the Sabbath is so radical. For one day each week, the people stop. They stop producing. They stop accumulating. They stop proving their worth through output. They remember they are human beings, not machines.
I think Hartmut Rosa is getting at something similar when he talks about resonance. He says people need experiences that break the pattern of constant growth: moments of awe, beauty, wonder, prayer, music, friendship, and time in nature. Experiences that cannot be measured by productivity, that do not generate profit, that remind us that life is not simply a project of accumulation.
A sunset accomplishes nothing. A symphony does not increase GDP. Standing beside the ocean contributes nothing to quarterly earnings. But those moments often feel more real than much of what fills our calendars.
The mystics understood this long before Rosa gave it a name. They knew that beauty changes our relationship with time. Wonder loosens the grip of urgency. Love interrupts calculation. Awe reminds us the world is something we take part in, not just something we try to control.
Maybe that is why experiences of transcendence matter so much today. They do not stop the machine. But they remind us that we are not the machine.
Maybe that is where every real off-ramp starts.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where do you feel the pressure of “more” operating in your own life right now?
What activities, relationships, or practices help you experience awe, beauty, wonder, or presence?
If you truly believed your worth was not tied to your productivity, what might change about the way you spend your time?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For a World That Cannot Stop
God, We live inside systems that never seem to rest. There is always another task, another crisis, another headline, another demand for our attention. The world teaches us to keep moving. To keep producing. To keep accumulating. To keep proving ourselves. And many of us are tired. Teach us again the wisdom of Sabbath. Help us remember that our value does not come from what we produce, what we own, or how much we accomplish. When anxiety pushes us to hurry, give us patience. When fear tells us there is never enough, teach us gratitude. When the machinery of the world pulls us away from what matters most, call us back to wonder. Help us notice beauty. Help us make room for joy. Help us remember that we are more than workers, consumers, and producers. We are your beloved creatures. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Finding an Off-Ramp
Hartmut Rosa argues that experiences of awe, beauty, and wonder help us step outside the constant pressure of growth and productivity. He calls these moments experiences of resonance.
Today, create space for one such experience.
Leave your phone behind and take a walk. Sit beside a tree. Watch the sunrise or sunset. Listen to a piece of music without multitasking. Read a poem slowly. Spend time with someone you love without trying to accomplish anything. Pay attention to what happens inside you.
Notice how quickly the mind wants to return to tasks, productivity, efficiency, or planning. Then gently return your attention to what is in front of you. You do not need to optimize this moment. You do not need to produce anything from it. Simply receive it.
The goal is not escape. The goal is remembrance.
For a few minutes, step off the highway of constant acceleration and remember what it feels like to be fully alive.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
June 9, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are starting our next book, The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williams. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
June 11, 18, 24, 2026, 12:30pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman on The Commons for a three-part series on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” series. Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During these sessions, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
June 8, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
June 8, 2026, 12pm ET - My friends at the Franciscan Federation are launching a new online community called “The Piazza.” This is a place for all Franciscan-hearted people to gather, connect with one another and build community together. They are launching the community on June 8. I hope you can be a part of their launch event. I will be there, for sure!
June 20, 2026 – ONLINE EVENT – Margaret Wheatley and Mary Daniels will lead a special three-hour online gathering titled Fierce Compassion: The Power of the Sacred Feminine. In a time marked by fragmentation, fear, and exhaustion, this program explores compassion not as passive kindness, but as a courageous force that protects life, tells the truth, and remains deeply rooted in love. Drawing from spiritual traditions, contemplative practice, and the imagery of fierce feminine wisdom figures such as Kali and Durga, they will reflect on what it means to stay human and spiritually grounded in difficult times. LEARN MORE + REGISTER.
JULY 12, 2026, 8AM–8PM ET in NYC - My friend Monika Son is helping lead a powerful Buddhist-led, interfaith pilgrimage across New York City titled “Day of Remembering Our Interdependence.” Inspired by the Buddhist monks’ 2,300-mile Walk for Peace and grounded in the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, participants will gather for walking meditation, prayer, chanting, ceremony, and collective reflection across all five boroughs, including stops at the African Burial Ground and the Metropolitan Detention Center where ICE detainees are being held. The day will culminate in a joyful community gathering in Queens with music, poetry, movement, and food. Participants are welcome to join for the full pilgrimage or any portion of the day. LEARN MORE HERE.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
I learned of Rosa’s work through Dr. Andrew Root, who has written a number of really brilliant books. Here is a link to a webinar that he and I created a couple of years ago. Still relevant for these times.