Coronavirus Reflection no. 16

As life returns to more normal I’m hoping that if I take one lesson out of lockdown it will be to remember the importance of taking time to get off the hamster wheel of life and just ‘be’. Although it took time to adjust to a quieter life, there is now a new acronym out there; ‘FOMLO’, OR ‘Fear of Missing Lockdown’, and the quieter life it brought.

For some, of course, this time has been dreadful; medical workers and carers have been rushed off their feet; families have lost loved ones to the virus and other illnesses; unemployment has struck and businesses have been wiped out. But for others, the absence of having to rush to meetings or sit in commuter traffic has meant the time can be spent reading the children a bedtime story; walking in the countryside; chatting to neighbours; enjoying the garden or just smelling the flowers.

Whilst there are still mortgages and bills to be paid and people need to return to work, it will be a shame if all this new way of being is lost. How wonderful it would be if we could all find a regular time to get off the treadmill and spend more time with our partners, children and grandchildren, and enjoy the lovely, friendly villages in which we are so blessed to live.

There is a beautiful invitation from Jesus to his disciples to take some time out after they’ve been very busy; ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile’. Having too much constant activity in life is a great danger to health and wellbeing; all of us need down-time in order to re-energise. Let’s not return to so much busyness that we can’t see the simple treasures right in front of us.

God bless

Revd Sue