I imagine I wasn’t the only one waking up on Tuesday morning wondering how we are all going to adjust to this new way of living. Covid 19 has radically altered what a normal daily routine might look like. Yet, times of crisis can be fruitful, pregnant with possibilities for doing things differently.
Rebecca Solnit once noted that from the word emergency comes the word emerge:
From an emergency, new things come forth. The old certainties are crumbling fast but danger and possibility are sisters.
What new routines can we create that will enable new ways of working, relating, playing and resting? Annie Dilliard once wrote,
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.
Or as Aristotle said on a similar vein: ‘How we spend our days is of course part of who we are becoming.’
Can we use this unforeseen time to cultivate practices that would deepen and strengthen our awareness of God, of others and the natural world? Can we establish new daily rhythms that will cultivate healthy and wholesome desires, love and develop a Godly character? What practices might offer us support as we seek to re-imagine our daily lives?
Sabbath keeping … taking a day each week to receive life as gift and to delight in the goodness of being alive.
Worship … setting time apart each day to enjoy God’s presence and express our thanks and praise, our lament and petitions..
Giving … of our time, talents, skills and resources so that others can be blessed by our wealth and experience of God’s goodness.
Prayer … spending time waiting, listening, opening ourselves to God’ Spirit at work in our deepest self, making us whole.
Lord, help us become large spirits. Deliver us from fear and anxiety, from boredom and impatience, from loneliness and isolation. May we discover your glory right where we are. Amen
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