Living For a New Normal - A Little Light No. 2
The beginning of August gave me a new momentum. I've been energized and activated to work on projects (including this one), applications, and read a couple of books. I’ve started this month with ambition, but I’m committed to keeping the same motivation I had from the beginning, throughout the month.
Here are a few things I've read, listened to, or talked about over the past few weeks.
1.Parable of the Sower - Octavia Buttler
After reading a quote from Octavia Butler in a book, her name began to constantly appear in other places. I'm reading her bestselling book, Parable of the Sower, which was published in 1993. The book follows a 15-year-old girl named Lauren who is trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world in 2024. She and her family live in the Los Angeles area, which is suffering from a drought that has lasted several decades. The book explores the effects of a climate crisis and human adaptation to change (even if the change was one they enacted). Needless to say, Octavia was before her time. Here’s a short excerpt from the first half of the book, where Lauren is having a conversation with her friend about survival.
" Have to what? We're fifteen! What can we do?
We can get ready. That’s what we’ve got to do now. Get ready for what’s going to happen, get ready to survive it, get ready to make a life afterward. Get focused on arranging to survive so that we can do more than just get batted around by crazy people, desperate people, thugs, and leaders who don’t know what they’re doing… Did you ever read about the bubonic plague in medieval Europe?
She nodded. She reads a lot the way I do, reads all kinds of things. 'A lot of the continent was depopulated,' she said. 'Some survivors thought the world was coming to an end.
Yes, but once they realized it wasn’t, they also realized there was a lot of vacant land available for the taking… A lot of things changed for the survivors.
Things are changing now, too. Our adults haven’t been wiped out by a plague so they’re still anchored in the past, waiting for the good old days to come back. But things have changed a lot and they’ll change more. Things are always changing. This is just one of the big jumps instead of little step by step changes that are easier to take. People have changed the climate of the world. Now they’re waiting for the old days to come back.”
As we’re sitting here in quarantine, many are feeling like the world is coming to an end. This fictional conversation supplies me with an unusual glimmer of hope. It's a reality check telling me, "yes this is an unprecedented time, but we will have to reconsider what life will look like when its over". This circumstance will not last forever. We are presented with a new opportunity to change our societal behaviors. Especially now, as so many injustices are being illuminated, many people question, do we want to go back to the old days? We should reconsider what a new normal will look like. Let's all work towards a new normal, thinking farther than the fact we'll have to get used to wearing a mask, eating outside, and not going to the movies for a while.
2. Long Term Goal Setting?
I'm inspired to think critically about the activities I am putting my energy towards. I want to move away from doing things “just because” but actually placing intentionality into it. One of my favorite podcasts released an episode discussing instant gratification. Tatum and her guest, Latisha Carr, explained how they shifted their reference points, actively resisting the glorification of the relentless grind. There’s obviously a season for everything, but grinding 24/7 isn't healthy. As they both work to better their businesses, they learn to acknowledge the seasons and work within their long term plan, rather than being swayed by what others are doing. One explained, “If it doesn’t contribute to my long term goal, I'm not doing it.” Within the same framework, Zim Flores writes in her newsletter, “Goals are great, but missions are better… My God given mission is the only thing I needed to run towards. This year, I’m committed to mission. Because a mission is a journey (with many highs and lows)…” Though long term goal setting is daunting, I'm inspired to work within the mission I feel God has placed on my heart, like the three ladies mentioned above.
Take this with you
As we think and dream about tomorrow, take some time to think about your future and the future of your community. What will your new normal look like? What have you already learned from the current circumstance? What is your mission or long term goal?
Please leave a comment below this if you have any answers to any of the questions asked! If this was interesting to you, share it with a friend, and keep the conversation going. I’ll read and respond to anything that comes my way.