Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Adventword #Wisdom

                                       One of the parish matriarchs --whom we lost in 2020. Photo by The Pensacola Hippie. 

Today's word is WISDOM. 

I am grateful for the wisdom of others who have more " life experience" than I do. As a matter of fact, I relied a lot on the wise advice from such people in order to navigate this unprecedented, horrible year. 

One of the wisest gems of advice came from my priest--- who received the same piece of wisdom from someone whom she admired. 

Don't "borrow trouble" Be particular about what news media to consume. 

The advice to " not borrow trouble" has proven to be sanity-saving during Pandemic Life.  While I remain fully in the reality of life right now, I cannot and do not let myself chase doomsday rabbits around in my head space.  When I fret-- I lose all of my common sense, and I am aware that senselessness does nobody any help--- especially in a crisis such as COVID. I've had to snooze some social media contacts to spare myself the daily COVID report in my county--- this is exactly the sort of input that will freeze my operating system and cause me to crash. 

There is a need to remain informed, as mature & responsible citizens. 

However, I find that too much exposure to breaking news causes me to slip into dangerous " what if" territory. 

So I hold onto the wisdom of selecting whose and how much news I consume daily. Additionally, I tend to call myself out if something causes me to start " borrowing trouble".  This wisdom helps me to remain an engaged, informed citizen during this crisis without sacrificing too much head space to the what-if factor. 

Additionally, I've found that I benefit from the wisdom of our faith also keeps me sane and ' grounded ' during Pandemic Life. I make an effort to pray the Noonday and Evening Prayers each weekday-- that rhythm of stopping at certain prescribed points during the workday  has been a constant durig this unpredictable year. While I can see why other Christians might not feel the connection & comfort I do from praying the same few words daily , I feel a real { let invisible} connection with Christians around the world when I pray these words. For me, I can soak in the wisdom of our forbearers in the Christian walk when I stop to pray these words. 

I am grateful for wisdom and Wisdom. 

Amen

Sarah McCarren

12-22-20 
 

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