Living in the question
And what is “The Question”? Perhaps it is “What is the ‘new normal’ going to look like?” Maybe we should ask ourselves “What did we learn from being ‘sent to our rooms’?
How do we want to live from now on?
Will we remember 2020 as the year of Covid, spilling now into 2021? Will we define ourselves as Covid victims, survivors, or witnesses?
What if we chose to really put 2020 behind us by not giving it undue attention in 2021? We can do whatever we need to feel safe and still re-establish ourselves as spiritually whole. Brokenness is not our nature.
What if one of the great lessons from this experience is to learn that we are not defined by our circumstances, but by our responses to them?
When we choose to grow out of a limiting self-definition, we leave it behind like a snake sheds its skin and moves on to new territory.
Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves…do not now look for the answers…at present you need to live the questions.
Rainer Maria Rilke from “Letters to a Young Poet”
To live in the questions at least long enough for an insight, a paradigm shift or a newfound awarenss means we will find that the rest of our experience will shift and we will be able to look at ourselves and others through those new insights.
Life is full of questions:
- questions about our identity,
- questions about our relationships,
- questions about our faith.
Sometimes there are no easy answers. And sometimes our answers change over time. But our questions can lead us into greater understanding.
We can ask ourselves what would our life look like if we took some space and time to just be: to see (not solve) the questions for what they are…something to be curious about and let grow within us.
Living in the question allows us to let life guide us rather than our trying to steer it. When we live in the questions, we’re choosing to pay attention to what’s happening now, our experience, and the choices we want to make given these truths. We’re agreeing to discover rather than having to know.
What I know is that you are not the person you were before the pandemic. And neither am I!
What if we just allow life to unfold?
4 Comments
Very insightful and thought provoking! Even though I used to like to watch the news I don’t anymore – they are the ones promoting fear,lots of misinformation, and inciting riots. It is sad that such a small group has so much power – if people wouldn’t follow like sheep and believe it all it would be 100% better. They need to read things such as this. Thanks Pat!
Tish, things we did out of habit, like watching the news, are up for re-evaluation. Or at least some discerning questions need to be asked before we automatically revert to habits that may no longer serve us.
Some habits though, like hugging, I can’t wait to reinstate!
Thanks for sharing!
I love the idea of being able to choose how we react to anything. I choose the idea of realizing that I enjoyed a little introspection, I loved get-ting to read so many more books, and I loved the creativity of how to stay in contact people when we weren’t in the same room.
Great blog Pat.
And Sandy, your perspective on your experience is not just healthy but also inspiring! Thanks for sharing.