Take up, not give up!

The privilege of serving local communities lets me see how we are ticking. The second and third 'lockdowns' have seemed harder to bear than the first. At one level that's not logical because the first was largely an unknown open-ended challenge, whereas 2 and 3 were/are shorter with more of the same. Landing on the moon in 1969 was not exactly straightforward, so it's hardly surprising that coping with a pandemic has its problems!

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Perhaps it's the feeling of going backwards; progress is often 3 steps forward, 2 back, 3 forward. Unrealistic expectations have been dashed; a normal Christmas reduced to a day, with strong guidance to avoid mixing at all. It could be that we've had a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, but are still in dark dank conditions.

So how about treating yourself this Lent instead of giving things up. We've had to give up so much! I'm not arguing we overdose on chocolate, rather bathe in what's wholesome. Here are some examples. Observing nature unwrap the seasons from a similar viewpoint each day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Research has shown that watching programmes about fellow creatures lifts our mood; I find short extracts just before turning in put life in perspective. Surely respect for nature is our top priority, beginning with each other, the challenge of global warming, and reuse/recycling so that we don't exhaust our supply of raw materials.

Covid has made me less patient with myself. I'll be taking up the Lent challenge of giving more time to what energises me: observation, music, creativity, friendships, exercise, beer!?

May God bless us as we spoil ourselves in order to be better at spoiling others!