How I Learned About Casual Day Syndrome

An Arizona Hike

      "Casual Day Syndrome" is a term often associated with climbers or hikers who are overconfident on familiar trails or have presumptuous attitudes on new trails. It's a term that defines being too relaxed, or not alert. Casual syndrome isn't only applied to the climber alone. We are not excused just because we aren't adrenaline-pumping sports enthusiasts, such as a mountaineer, a paraglider or a cliff diver. The everyday stroller can have a relaxed attitude of complacency and take a tumble. An experienced driver can give casual day syndrome a ride, and we can assume the results.  

    We can casually trip over the corner of a familiar rug in a familiar location in our familiar home, and break a bone simply because we had walked that way a hundred times. That's casual day syndrome. 

    Casual day syndrome can hijack our talents and skills fitted to us before our first breath. Since God gave them to us, and we expect we will always have them, we can be casual about using them. We might casually claim that it's not necessary to sharpen or improve His talents. We can lose passion for learning and growing and end up forgetting a line, misinterpreting a concept, or missing an exceptional opportunity. 

     Relationships, though intangible, can suffer from casual day syndrome, too, and perhaps do the most damage. "They will always be there," or "I can fix it later,"  or "It wasn't my fault" are those nasty peaks we should attempt to summit, but we aren't interested in putting on cleats. Perhaps you have seen the "Round Tuit" procrastination token that reads, "I'll get around to it." Oddly, rubbing the surface until it has a new dent represents a casual attitude of disregard. If we can, we want to avoid the trailhead, "If Only." 

    Sadly, casual day syndrome can be applied to a relationship with Christ. Many casually approach the familiar trailhead, "There Will Always be Time," yet choose to take the trail which Christ would not. Like climbers who died because they didn't turn around at the point of knowing something wasn't quite right, many will casually rub the Tuit token into eternity, absent of a relationship with Christ. But, can Christ find those who casually ignore Him? Yes. He can. He does not give up on pursuing people. Recall the Parable of the Lost Sheep when Jesus speaks of the shepherd who left his ninety-nine to search for the lost one until he finds it. There is nothing casual about Jesus and His purposes for us. 

    If you have been following our Steppingstone Journey blog for fourteen years, you know we hike a lot, both domestically and internationally. In 2022, I met Casual Day Syndrome personally on the side of a mountain that I had hiked multiple times. I knew this mountain. But that day, I tripped on one of the many granite boulders perched on that trail. I pitched forward and landed full force on an obliging boulder. Ouch! That stung! Later, I was surprised that I had been so overconfident and careless. As a reminder, to this day, the boulder hit left a small indent where the bruise occurred. 

    

What was the lesson I learned as I stepped into the week with a swollen cheek and a puffy, black eye? I had to explain I had become overconfident with familiarity, and that I didn't finish strong. I was too relaxed, too casual. My mind wandered and I wasn't paying attention. 

    Where else have I practiced Casual Day Syndrome? I can name them! I've been back on many mountains many times, and boulders are still there, but I trust my Foothold. Also, I trust Casual Day Syndrome to be an attitude that will try to hitch a hike!

Thank you for reading. Keep Looking Up! 

J:m and L:nda