You Now Have Time

The first few months of 2020, I spent reviewing and resetting myself or so I thought. Bam! Mother nature hit me over the head to say wake up! Since the Corona-Confinement, I can see much more clearly that I was deluding myself if I thought I had taken the journey within.  In my head I hear, ‘you now have time finish to finish the job.’

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get isolated enough to start to look at myself deeply since there is no one else to look at anymore. No one else to watch, to critique, to project my stuff on. Just me and my other three family members in the house with me but I have already analyzed them. We moved to the country so there is no one to watch out of my window either. The only person left to look at is me. What if this was by divine design?

What if this time-out for the human race, caused by the virus, was purposeful divine timing? What if this is the “event” that has been prophesied? The sky is still blue. The sea is not red. The sun still comes up every morning. And yet, we have all shifted into neutral. Our normal lives have been put on hold. After two weeks of staying home, in the United States,  we have now been told another 30 days.

Another 30 days to sit and ponder. Am I safe from the virus? Will I recover from the virus? How is this affecting my family and my loved ones? How do I get income if I have lost it? How do I keep a job if I still have one? I have to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. How will I survive this physically, mentally, emotionally, and economically? The answer is faith. Faith in a power higher than your own. A faith in something that cannot be seen or heard but can be felt in your heart.

Be still and know that I am God.  (Psalms 46:10)

I think this verse sums up the whole situation. We have all been made to slow down around the world. It is a global pause. A time out, for not just us, but also for mother earth as well, as we stay home. It is a time for us all to reset ourselves. Reset our way of living. Reset our way of thinking. It is an opportunity for a rebirth. Maybe, dare I say it, a new earth…

We are each being forced by circumstances beyond our control to reevaluate our lives – what we do, how we live, how we care for one another. This is bigger than politics. This is bigger than religion. You notice in both politics and religion that each has the ability to polarize humans against each other. I can’t imagine its good for us if it can polarize us against one another. It might be time to shift the paradigm. Get outside of the box thinking and look around. You’ve got the time now to do just that! Maybe that is the gift – Time. God has given us each time to stop and look at our lives. What do you see?

For the next 30 days, I challenge you to accept the divine gift of time we have each been given to really look at ourselves, our families, our communities, our country, and our world. Think outside the box, brainstorm ideas and practices, talk about the bad and the good – with yourself. The conversation is with yourself, so you are safe to speak your true thoughts. You can have silent conversations in your mind, journal your thoughts through writing, or speak them aloud in the mirror. This is your opportunity to create a world of your choosing.

Some concepts to consider and reshape. We have been doing things the same way for a long time. Are they still relevant? Are there better ways to address the same problem? Again, think outside the box.

• When was the last time you asked yourself if you were happy? What would make you happy?
• Do you cherish your family or tolerate your family? What would you like to see change in your family?
• Do you belong to a community? Describe that community? It could be your neighborhood, town, church, school, work, etc.
• How does your community or communities make you feel? Does it bring out your best qualities? What could you do differently?
• Schools are closed and students are learning from home? What are the positives and negatives of online or distance learning? What are some ways our education system needs to change?
• Everyone is concerned with their health and our healthcare system during this pandemic. If we started from scratch in designing healthcare how would it look? What is basic healthcare for all? What is the difference between elective procedures and required procedures? What role does mental health play in basic healthcare? What role does society play in basic healthcare? What role does government play in basic healthcare? What role does the world play in basic healthcare?
• Looking at work/life balance the tables have been flipped in many cases. More people are working from home than in the workplace during this time. Has working from home affected you? How do you find work/life balance? What would you like to see change in the workplace?
• In the US, our 50 states form a union under our one federal government. The original plan from our founding fathers was for the federal government to provide life, liberty, security, sovereignty for the union. Over time, the federal government has taken on more duties from the states for the states. What do you see is the purpose of the federal government? What do you see is the purpose of the state government? What is the purpose of political parties, namely Republicans and Democrats? Do political parties divide us? Is this division in our best interest? What would you change in how the states and federal government are run? How do you feel about term limits in the government? Describe your vision of good government?
• Looking at the world, what is the responsibility for each country to one another? At the global level there are world politics, world finance, and world religion. How do these interplay with one another? How does what happens on a global level affect you? Does it matter what happens on a global level? What changes are needed globally that affects us all?

There are many more branches on this tree of life we could explore, and I encourage you to keep going as more bubble up for you in the next 30 days. We have been given the gift of time to reevaluate, to reset, to find balance in our lives, our communities, and our world.  Let’s put our gift to use! Feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, or questions in the comments below.

Let go of the differences, Embrace the similarities.
Let go of judgement, Embrace common ground.
Let go of the old ways, Embrace new ideas.
Let go of divisions, Embrace unity.