As I have mentioned in a previous letter, one thing I have learned about myself during this COVID craziness is that I am happier and healthier when my life has a regularity to it. I like to know what to expect and when I can expect it, and interruptions or surprises or changes always throw me off my rhythm. It does not even matter what the change is! A lifetime ago, when I was still traveling for vacations, even if I was very excited about where I was going and what I was doing, the fact that my prayer rhythm, my sleeping quarters, my eating habits and everything else were different always exhausted me; and it was only after a week back home, when my routine was reestablished, that I felt peaceful again.
Many of you have told me that I am not alone in this, so I think it is important for us to acknowledge why routines are so helpful. We human beings are creative and innovative, and we can solve many of the problems that come our way. But it always takes energy, especially emotional energy, to exercise that creativity. In other words, newness comes at a cost. The more different something is, the more of our “head space” it requires. We appreciate our routines because they are problems we have already solved, so they allow us to get through life without expending a lot of emotional energy. The more routine our life is, the more “head space” is available for the interruptions and surprises.
I say all of this because I think it is important for us to have mercy on ourselves once again. As joyful and exciting as it is that this disease is enough under control that we can begin to reopen our church and our society, it means that a lot of us are having the reinvent the wheel every day as we navigate this gray area between shut down and normalcy. Confronting these challenges and changes is going to be exhausting, and it is okay to acknowledge that, to ourselves, to our families, and to the Lord. If we are honest about how we are feeling, we give others (especially Jesus) permission to help us through it.
May the Lord, who has adopted our humanity as his own, continue to guide each of us in this crazy time!
Fr. Moore 