Hey Everybody,
Christ-ist Living Series
Week Nine: “I’m Alive, Alert, Awake, Enthusiastic, and A Little Annoyed That I’m Still In Lockdown, Oh Dear Lord, I Love It and Will It Ever End?”
Continuing in our “Christ-ist Living” series, we need to know it’s okay to have multiple, seeming ly conflicting thoughts and feelings.
It’s in the resistance of our feelings about our situations that let us fall on hard times. We have even been known to resist situations that we want. Such as: “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” “I can’t believe you want me to have this.” “I can’t believe she gave me a raise!” “I can’t accept this gift.” Anyone?
Most people I know are finding the gifts in our current situation called “quarantining,” and are starting to get antsy and “complainy” at the same time. (Yes, I made that word up.) I suggest we all start each day by affirming, “I’m alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! I’m alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic! I’m alive, alert, awake: I’m alert, awake, alive…I’m alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic!”
I can certainly identify with anyone who is uncomfortable in their skin, no matter what is going on. I can be uncomfortable with what I fear, with what I hate and the manifestation of what I love. Sometimes it’s just so uncomfortable to be me. Hence the need for the “Alive, Alert, Awake” cheer/prayer. The rah, rah prayers are great for dealing effectively with discomfort. Even though it may be uncomfortable (at first) to be singing Joy songs. However, SING THEM! Sing them till you feel as hopeful as you can feel. Find every JOY song you can and sing them all day long. Sing them till you believe them absolutely. Get the Karen Drucker songbook. Get the Richard Medici songbook. Get the Richard Burdick Healing By Chants songbook. Sing/pray. Sing/pray.
Those of you who watch my daily Facebook Live “Daily Dose of Spirituality” on my Facebook page see that I end every episode with “Every Little Cell In My Body Is Healthy.” Somebody asked me when I was going to do a new song. I told them I would once everybody was singing “Every Little Cell.”
Use this time wisely. The Bible gives us a great instruction from Proverbs 4: “The beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight (understanding). Notice, thoughts, feelings, and insights that take place during this time. Journal, but don’t give anything meaning. Just write down your observations. Notice how your comfort and discomfort level shifts with each day and each thought. With that you will know for certain, no feeling lasts forever.
For myself, I truly feel that I’m in union with the world over this one thing…and I want to go to the grocery store without a mask and gloves on.
I’m singing a joyous love song for us all,
Rev. Shawn