This is the thirty-fourth in a series of periodic reflections on the "ordinary things" that many people do on a regular basis without much thought. During this pandemic, I am developing a need to "rage, rage" against haste and laziness and replace it with care and attention. My hope is to become personally more intentional about doing ordinary things with care and focused attention, while inspiring others to maybe do the same.
WHAT DOES "NORMAL" FEEL LIKE?
Many of us might remember the old TV commercial from the 1980s that asked "Is it real or is it Memorex?" The brand of audio recording tapes known as Memorex claimed to offer such an authentic capture, representation, and playback experience that the listener would not be able to tell if they were listening to the actual conversation or performance or if it was simply being played back for them on audio tape.
During this pandemic, I find myself wondering whether this "new normal" is actually real or whether I am in a dream from which I can't seem to wake up. It's only been been a little over six months, but I find myself stopping and trying to remember what "normal" felt like.
If I let myself think about it, I can remember other events that are similar when things have radically changed in such a short time leaving people confused about what's real and what isn't.
I still remember sitting on the deck of my nieces's house after we had just buried her husband. She said something I keep coming back to from time to time. "I knew who I was yesterday, but I don't know who I am today!" Her mind had not caught up to the reality that she was in the same house as she was in yesterday, but she was no longer a "wife," but a "widow." It happened so quickly that she was struggling with what was real and what wasn't.
I remember going into the house after my last parent died. What used to be "home" for me was all of a sudden just a "house." It happened so quickly that I was struggling with what was real and what wasn't.
Many soldiers come home seriously wounded after a war, many people come home after a cancer diagnosis, many workers have come home after being told that their jobs have been eliminated and find themselves struggling with what is real and what isn't.
I remember the days after my retirement became a fact. I knew I had been a very active priest for forty-five years, but as I let go of that identity I struggled with what was real and what wasn't.
We are entering a period of grieving. We are struggling with what's real and what isn't. As much as I yearn for "the way things were" and wish that "things would get back to normal," I know in my heart of hearts that we are already in a "new reality" and, no matter how I miss it, there is no way to "go back" really. A stark choice awaits me sooner or later. "Will you choose to stay stuck with your mind in the past and your body in the present or will you reinvent yourself and find a way to adjust and be happy in this "new reality."
YESTERDAY'S GONE
1964
We need relief from this nightmare. We need a new hope, a new beginning and a fresh start. I am reminded of President Gerald Ford's speech in 1974. at the beginning of his presidency.
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