Normal? I’ll pass…
It’s much too hot to sit on the porch in the rocking chair today so I’m inside in the air conditioning under the ceiling fan in the recliner rocker. Oddly, as much as I like being outside, I don’t like the heat too much. My favorite seasons are spring and fall. I guess I like it not too hot, and not too cold.
Anyway, I’m glad you passed through today because I wanted to talk through something I’ve been hearing a lot recently. It seems like everyone is wanting to go “back to normal.” Have you heard that? I’m not sure what your thoughts are but I have some definite ideas.
Certainly we are creatures of habit. Humans find safety and stability in routines. Even the most spontaneous person is made to follow after particular pathways sometimes. So, I get it. Normal represents all the things that the world— no, literally, the world— has had to rethink, reimagine, and redesign in response to the pandemic. Now that restrictions are being lifted and we can socialize with our families, travel with our friends, eat in restaurants, enjoy live music, and seasonal festivals again, we are slowly emerging from our pause to rush back into sameness.
In some ways, I totally agree that the consistency of our live B.C. (before covid) is something to be longed for. Yet, I want to challenge your desire just a little. Should life A.C. (after covid) look just like it did B.C. (before covid)? Is it normal that we long for or is it the familiar that we miss? Truth is, some of what was we normalized was abnormal. Working to the point of exhaustion, over extending ourselves, not taking time to smell the roses was abnormal. Some of us were burning the candle at both ends while amassing things for some alleged day down the road that we’d be able to sit back and enjoy with our families. If nothing else, the pandemic should have taught us that tomorrow, that alleged day, may not be ours to hold. If going “back to normal” includes being too tired to enjoy the money I make with the people I love, I’ll pass. “I’ll take living-my-best-life-now for $500 Alex.”
B.C., some of us were spending so much time outside of our houses away from our kids, spouses, and dogs—sorry, I’m a dog mom— that being quarantined with them almost drove us crazy! 😝 Locked up everyday with no accounting for introversion, extroversion, ambiversion, pet peeves, or idiosyncrasies forced us to face those closest to us, ourselves and the ensuing challenges associated with doing such. Were you aware that domestic violence increased and so did the presentation of mental illnesses during the pandemic? That’s right! Some of us fought each other. Others of us turned more inward and wrestled with ourselves. Everything that we were as people— the good, the bad, and the ugly— was magnified by the pressures of the unavoidable pandemic.
So now that who we are is on the table, should we not deal with the truth? Would rushing back to a world that substitutes the avoidance of what’s real for favorites and fallacies be the normal that we need? Or, is that normal an old familiar song stuck on repeat hypnotizing and rocking us all to sleep with her lullaby while our souls’ holes go unaddressed? If normal includes the avoidance of confronting my mind, my will, and my emotions, I’ll pass.
I don’t know about you my friend; but, I’m taking this opportunity to address the holes in my soul. My physical body isn’t the only part of me that needs addressing. I have a few more pounds to go in my weight loss journey and I’m cutting carbs. Pray saints! lol 😂 My spirit isn’t the only part of me that needs attention. I can pray and listen to sermons all I want. I can put this good ‘ole 7th ward-9th ward New Orleans footwork together in a dance until I’m worn out. If I don’t spend some time addressing what’s going on inside of me, life will continue to be the same, familiar, normal. Going back to normal? I’ll pass.
I’m believing God for a “new thing” and I plan to be “woke” —commonly colloquially stated to connote awareness—to experience it (Is 43:19). I’ve decided not to miss new because I’m longing for normal.
Normal? Thank you for the offer; but, I’ll pass.
