Even though the pandemic is not over, I’ve found myself asking the following questions: What have you learned from this time of crisis that you want to carry with you into the future? What do you want to leave behind?

Today I’d like to quickly explore one of the things I wish to carry with me into the future: SIMPLICITY! Before the pandemic, my schedule was not very life-giving. I had too many irons in the fire (including this blog). These days, my life has a much healthier rhythm. I spend two days a week babysitting my granddaughter which is an absolute joy. She has a deep curiosity about the natural world so we do a lot of exploring together. I believe she’ll be the only first grader who knows the name of all the plants that grow in our area! Her sense of wonder rubs off on me and I get to rediscover many things I’ve taken for granted in nature that she finds absolutely amazing. What a wonderful gift she has given me!

I also enjoy my daily adventure early in the morning at the dog park. It has a lovely lake beside it and my pooch and I enjoy watching the wildlife that calls this lake home, including a healthy and cantankerous flock of Canadian geese. In the past, I used to resent this task sometimes, but now I see it as a holy time that prepares me for the day.

I also love working in my medicinal herb garden and find a quiet magic there that is grounding and peaceful. It’s always been one of my happy places, but I find I value it more now than I did before the endemic began.

I also invest more time in my relationships with those who are closest to me and less time on peripheral ones. I’m not as readily available as I used to be and this is a healthy thing for me. I’ve set some healthy boundaries that I want to keep in place as I move forward into the future.

My full time job as the leader of a faith community has been quite exhausting and challenging this past year. I’ve had to learn to reinvent the wheel quite a bit. However, as things return toward that dreaded word we call “normal,” I will take some new technologies with me such as Zoom. Who would have thought you could teach a meditation class on Zoom and have it be a meaningful experience? I’ve also found it to be more efficient to have meetings on Zoom since people don’t have to drive to attend and its kinder on the environment as well.

My magical life is a bit different too. It’s simpler and a little less flashy. I don’t use as many “props” but try to be more open to being a vessel through which both Earth and Spirit energy flow to bring health and healing to others. It feels like a deeper and more grounded practice and I find I take whatever time I need to do the work rather than doing it quickly in order to get on with the next thing I have to do.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I didn’t share this post to make you feel bad or to brag. The opposite is true! I hope you will take time to figure out everything that was of value to you during this time of pandemic and make sure you don’t leave it behind. COVID-19 has been both a curse and a blessing! A curse because we lost a lot of good people along the way. A blessings because those of us who have survived have been given a rare opportunity in life to hit the reset button. Don’t let this holy moment pass you by!

I hope all of you are well and that you’ve been able to find simply joys in the midst of one of the most challenging years we’ve had in our country and throughout the world.

Blessed be! David T

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