Thursday, October 22, 2020

Rooted

I've started typing this so many times.

I have opened this blog countless times since the pandemic and

I have writer's block, and I can't figure out

Okay, 2020.  Stop already.  

Covid, take a seat. We're sick of you.

I don't even know what this blog post will be about - or where it will lead. Or whether it will be worth reading.  But I suppose that is just our new way of being right now.  Don't know where we're collectively headed.  No clue when or how this will all end.  Fuzzy trying to envision what this will look like on the other side.

But I think I'm learning that is okay. 

Did we know where we were headed before the pandemic? Did we know where it would end?  Unless we're fortune tellers I don't think so..

It started to make me think... we are constantly grasping for solid ground, a sturdy foundation on which to stand. I think so many of us make the common mistake of finding our footing in:

  • Good health
  • A safe, secure job
  • Financial security 
  • Our children behaving properly
  • Our family's health and happiness
  • Routine
  • A solid marriage or relationships

Yet if any of these are the basis for our 'base,' what happens when: the job goes away? When money is tight?  When we get a bad medical diagnosis? When our children are on a bad path or our loved one is sick? When routine falls to the wayside?

Placing it all on elements that could change at any moment, well, it's frankly a fragile way to define stability, and it just leaves us grasping.  

The pandemic forced all of us to answer tough questions. For me: "Where am I rooted? And it is steady?"  

I don't think I'm alone in saying that 2020 year has pushed us to the edge. Anxiety looms. Fear is in the air.  The end seems nowhere in sight. There's fighting over what's truth and what's not.  Few of us are certain of what to believe or where we stand. I feel like it's more important than ever before for each of us to ask that one question: where am I rooted? 

Perhaps the pandemic is pushing us to evolve.  Perhaps it's asking each of us to reflect on how we are living on our lives, who we are loving, where we are spending our time and energy.  

And these are good questions to ask.

Because here's the thing. If each of us grows ourselves, it adds to the collective growth of our society. And who doesn't agree that our society needs to mature right now? 

I'm still answering the question.  But one of my answers shifted my perspective so dramatically that my heart and my soul are forever changed.  And for me, it all revolves around home and family, a re-thinking of my role at home and the privilege it is to shape tiny, growing lives.

Where am I rooted?... 

.. a question worth answering. After all, it was Winston Churchill who said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste."




2 comments:

  1. I think you are so right. The question that all of us should be asking is “Where are you rooted?” For me, my answer would have to be my faith in God. After losing my husband 14 months ago and then dealing with this Covid craziness, I have been forced to examine my own priorities and what is important in my life. And the only constant is that my God has never left my side. When I have stomped my feet in disbelief at what life was throwing at me, I have been reminded over and over that God is in—and has always been in—control. And that is where I am rooted...in a God that never lets go.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You pretty much nailed how I have felt through this darkness. About all we CAN control is our reactions to the unknown surprises around every corner. And how we prioritize our options. Always choose wisely. You have! XO

    ReplyDelete