Freedom can be disorienting. Days spent in isolation and quarantine tend to lose distinction. One of the gifts of staying home is an abundance of free time. Yet this new freedom creates a familiar old challenge. As is often the case with freedom we are presented with even more choice. What will I do with my day? What do I want to do with my day? For some, the needs and shoulds seem to fade away without the pressure of “work” which is refreshing indeed. Nonetheless, in our isolation, time stretches on. Our options begin to pile up as more and more offerings emerge. Zoom meetings, workshops, webinars, yoga and meditation classes. With options come more questions. Am I to commit to this class? This dance party? Even more – Am I to offer something? What is my part to play in this new #StayHome normal?
As a spiritual director, I tend to think of choices less as options, opportunities, or decisions to be made and more as invitations. The concept of an invitation allows me to consider my ‘Yes’ or my ‘No’ in a more sacred way. Invitations typically don’t present themselves with any kind of pressure. On the contrary, invitations are often received with a sort of delight – a birthday party, a wedding, a graduation, a baby shower, a bachelor party. You’re Invited!
Yet and still, invitations have the potential to overwhelm. Like the 30-something who is suddenly barraged by wedding invites. Invitations still present us with a choice, although I like to think that the weight of the choice feels lighter when received in a form that feels intentional. Invitations are sent and received. So I can feel special when I perceive that someone thought to include me.
What am I being invited to? Who or what is including me today? You may ask yourself.
If I received an invitation every day for two weeks to a wedding, I might get overwhelmed. Eventually annoyed. We all react differently to overstimulation. Each of us has our own ways of coping or dealing with “too much.” Likewise, if I received an invitation every day to the Netflix and chill party, or the Instagram get down, or the CNN pre-show and afterparty, how might this constant influx make me feel? Do any of us really want to go to the same party every day?
Every day we stay home, there is an invitation. What are you being invited to today? And what might you need to decline in order to accept this invitation?
I absolutely LOVE this! Perspective is EVERYTHING and this post brought a very clear perspective to a shift we are all right now experiencing THANK YOU!!!
I invite you to keep the post coming; ONELOVE