Are we there yet?

Well, if you are talking about Covid, yes, with the vaccine roll out we seem to be closer to the lockdown ending.  Albeit, there seem to be several steps to go and it will depend on what happens as a result of each of those steps.  Have we the patience to accept that, to let things unfold?

Do you remember asking that question from the back seat of the car – and you had only got as far as the Rising Sun, or just got on to the motorway?  It’s hard being a child in those circumstances.  You are not in control of what is going on.  Covid has been like that.  We have not been in control and we have been told what we can and can’t do.  Some people instinctively rebel against that. Adults and children alike, however reasonable the demand is.  That’s our ego shouting.

Our ego, the part of us that shouts and stamps its feet and says ‘I want..’,  is necessary to establishing us in the world.  It can be quite cute in a three year old.  We put up with it in teenagers, but after that it can be tiresome and tiring.  It hates uncertainty and sees it as a threat.  But there are no certainties.  There are only probabilities.  We are not in control.

The ego, of course, is only a part of us.  There is another part that knows that in life and particularly on the spiritual journey, we are ‘never there yet’.  We are always travelling, exploring and discovering more about the meaning of ‘God is love’ and what that means for our relationship with ourselves and those around us.   This journey is one of patience and stillness, of being in harmony with the flow of life, of knowing what I can change and what I can’t and doing so with a quiet acceptance.  Not easy, but ultimately more fulfilling and less stressful.

This Covid journey has been a tough one, particularly for those whose livelihoods have been at stake, for the poorest in our society, for ethnic minorities, for those needing treatment and care and those looking after them.  It has also been a pilgrimage of discovery, as we have learned in our Lent Breakfast sessions. People have discovered new places to take a walk, new activities, new and meaningful ways of being in contact with relatives and friends and new appreciation of those they live with.  We may not be there yet, but we are on the way and the best thing about this journey is that each new day we can make a new start.

Chris Dawson  

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