The new norm. Is anyone else tired of hearing about the “new norm”? With distancing, masks, toilet paper shortages, no church and kids sports and schools being cancelled, the very mention of the “new norm” brings about emotions that are better kept bottled up. Battling the mention of the new norm has had me finding ways to make things as normal as possible. In the walls of my home we are a mask free, social distance free zone, pretending as if the new norm was never mentioned. In an effort to bring balance to my teeter tottering emotions we have decided to make a practice of our dinner conversations focused around all the good that happens to us each day. Admittedly these can be short conversations, however with a little digging we can usually scratch together a pretty good list. Here are a few of the things that have been brought to light during our conversations:
- School in pajamas (sometimes you just want to stay comfy for the day)
- No more needless trips to Target (this one was mine, not my wifes)
- I spend way less money on gas
- Church at home with my wife and kids sitting next to me on the couch
- Spending more time with my kids, especially the older ones that are off to college and missions
- More lengthy conversations with my wife and kids about meaningful thoughts and emotions
- Less distractions taking us in different directions
- New projects and passions discovered
- I miss people and reach out to people more intentionally to check in on them and tell them I love them
- Friends and relationships have become more meaningful
With a little isolation and less access to the pulls of the world we can redirect our thoughts to those things that really make us feel rich. Maybe I shouldn’t have let a global pandemic be the thing that redirected my thoughts to the more meaningful things in life. What makes your life a rich and meaningful one?
RMIT
