Back To Normal
As it should be.
In the midst of everything going on right now, I know that a lot of us are reaching out and grappling, hoping to rest our hands on anything that would bring respite – any kind of rest, escape, release from the global anxiety gripping the world.
We’re jumping from texts to Twitter to Instagram to Facebook to Snapchat to TikTok to Houseparty to whatever new app or challenge that will rear its head in attempts to distract ourselves long enough to not worry anymore.
At least that’s what I’m doing.
It’s hard. Harder still to see any bright sides to this situation. It’s a dark room, and we’re scrambling around, stumbling over ourselves, looking for any semblance of light to show us the way out.
But I want to take a moment and stand still – and think. I want to turn away from the world outside and pay more attention to the one within me. In this time of isolation, I want to try and find my peace. My version of balance. To stop leading the non-stop, hectic lifestyle the TV sold to me and do the work of designing my own.
I know I’ve said that before: empty vows that bore no fruit. But here, I think I’ve found some light: in isolation, in this time of global quiet and slower pace, we are almost forced to look in the mirror and see what we’ve been living like.
It’s only when I stopped moving that I realised how tired I was. It’s only when I consumed more did I realise how bored I was. It’s only when things were at risk did I realise how much I valued them.
And here’s the best bit for me: I hope this changes things forever. I hope this period serves as the litmus test of what we will and won’t accept. Of what we do and don’t need. Of how we want to live, eat, sleep, exercise. I hope it shows us what we want to prioritise. I hope it helps us live more fully and true to ourselves.
I’m not saying we all have to start side hustles. But maybe we can come out of this a little clearer about things. Maybe we can love a little more. Maybe we can grow. Maybe we can understand ourselves and each other a little more.
For so long, the life we lived had been fast-paced, white-knuckled, moving at breakneck speed. Numbers and analytics, stats and data, money, money, money. Unicorns and IPOs, backhand dealings, untrustworthy politicians and plastic smiles. This was our normal. This artificiality, this reflection of a reality that didn’t really exist. A grand pretence and worldwide scam.
But behold a dawn on the horizon; a season of silence; a moment to sow and nurture. It’s like we’re being forced to learn how to be patient again – how to reconnect with each other and rummage deeper into depths we once forgot. We’re learning how to be human again.
And I hope this becomes the new normal. I hope nothing’s the same after this – because how can it be? I hope this time teaches us to live better in tandem with the world around us; to live locked in step with God. To choose the life and world we want with a little more consideration.
These are strange times. But not as strange as it would be if everything stays the same. We can’t afford to go back to the way things were just because that’s how it’s always been. We can’t be fooled twice.
My mum keeps saying this is a period to reset. I believe her. In this chaos, some of us have a chance to reassess, review, remove and renovate as necessary. Let’s not waste it.
Nothing changes if nothing changes, right?
