Getting Down to Work Surrounded by COVID-19
We're going to take a break from our Lenten series. Normally current events don't much influence what we post. But this Coronavirus - specifically the response to it - has completely taken over our lives. For what it's worth, here are some thoughts regarding working in this environment.
First and foremost, there's no reason to let all the hubbub or the stress it can create impinge on your spiritual life. Not that this won't bring challenges. Sometimes, depending on your tolerance for stress or that of others around you, it can be hard to concentrate. If that's the case, don't drive yourself crazy. You can simply do your best to pursue your morning routine that includes prayer, reading good spiritual works, studying Scripture, etc. Under normal circumstances, distractions can horn their way into these pious practices. How to you handle those?
I just plow ahead. I ask God for help. And if the distractions persist, I recognize that this may actually be something either coming from or permitted by God.
He does stuff like this to test us. But more so, He does this so we can check in with our humility meter. Being distracted shows us how much we need to rely on Him, rather than ourselves. It can be disconcerting to admit that we can't hold a thought or pursue our prayers in a fashion that we consider appropriately disciplined. All these sorts of thoughts likely stem from pride. Frankly, most of us think a lot of ourselves. And we don't like seeing ourselves easily distracted or weak-willed. That's where humility can enter the picture. If we find ourselves humbled, even humiliated, by our lack of self-discipline, so much the better. If it scratches even the tiniest crust of pride off of us, we should be grateful.
So stick to it. Put it all in the Hands of a Loving Father. Don't fret, even if you find yourself plowing through it all with little feeling or comprehension. If anything, try to slow down. If that means you read a little less, or even maybe eliminate completely one of your usual practices due to time constraints, so be it. With good intentions and honest effort, you've covered your bases. Our Father understands how weak we really are.
Of course, the time constraints may have shifted these days. So many of us aren't commuting anymore. That may give us a cushion of time to spend with our pious practices. Maybe it frees up some precious moments to simply recognize God's Presence, to tell Him you love Him. Ideally, we're doing this at certain discreet moments during our usual workday. But, naturally, that's not always the case. So we can count our blessings if we've got a chunk or two of "extra" time to grab a few discreet moments with Our Father, Our Saviour, the Holy Spirit, Our Blessed Mother.
Now some practical considerations regarding working from home.
Some of us already spend some or all of our time working from home. If that's the case, there's no real change these days - except for the distractions caused by our concern for the progress of this disease and its potential impact on either our own health of that of our loved ones. Again, such distractions shouldn't surprise us and shouldn't throw us for a loop. Accept them as normal. Handle them as best you can. But keep getting back to the task at hand.
If you're already a disciplined home-office worker, you know the task at hand remains the basic building block of any workday. Check your plate. Pick up what's on it. Handle it. Rinse. Repeat. There's no reason any of this has to change.
If we're not used to working at home, some of us may find it difficult to keep our concentration persist in attending to our daily tasks. If you haven't already figured this out, if at all possible, find a location in your home that's somewhat - or completely - isolated from the family. (They're all likely home too. Kids are out of school. If your spouse works outside the home, maybe she's now home in the same situation.)
If quarters are tight, this may not be possible. You may have to talk to the family and set up a kind of common schedule of some sort. After all, unless the kids are on spring break, they should be "at school" however their schools have arranged this. Maybe everyone agrees that from 9 - noon everyone works - as quietly as possible. Then you take a lunch break. (Heck, it might be fun having lunch with the family during the week, no?) Then everyone's back to work in the afternoon. And if the kids' school work ends - as it normally does - sometime around 3, then, well, maybe there's homework to keep them occupied - and relatively quiet - until let's say, 5 PM.
See how this might work?
Some final thoughts concern those of us who may have lost our source of income. The most obvious: workers in closed retail establishments, waiters being the prime example. If you're out of work, you're not alone. I know that's not necessarily going to lift your spirits, but the fact is there are likely hundreds of thousands of folks like you.
Okay, you already likely know that you should be trusting God here. If you've got some savings cushion or family to help out, it's easier to do this. If you've been living paycheck to paycheck, and you don't really have potential family support, it might be harder. Pressing financial matters create stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety makes it harder to tell yourself it's all in God's Hands. Maybe your intellect acknowledges this; but it also likely wonders how you're going to pay the rent, buy food, etc.
Frankly, I don't have a lot of practical solutions to offer here. Just remember this won't last forever. And when current circumstances change, maybe you look at how you're running your financial life and make some changes. I recognize that not all of us can do this, but certainly, some of us can stop spending so much and start saving. Having some money socked away helps a lot when emergencies happen.
COVID-19 may pass without killing too many of us or causing a lot of us to have to get to a hospital. The thing is, right now, we just don't know. Information we've received isn't necessarily accurate. We're dealing with this, in many ways, "on the fly." We're learning as we go. Not always the best way to handle emergencies, but sometimes the only way.
Let's all at the very least pray for each other. Even those of us who are in better shape than others to handle things financially still must face the health scare.
One thing that hasn't changed, that's common to all of us, whatever our situation, we're all members of the Church Militant. Daily struggle always had been and always will be our lot in life. One way or another, we face a daily battle. War remains a heartbeat away, even if we're not always aware of it. For many if not most of us, that awareness has just increased exponentially. The bullets are flying, the bombs are dropping.
Final thought, with this reality of "war" in mind: They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. We Catholic men should have always understood this. If, for some reason, this has never sunk in, it likely will now.
Oh, and let's not forget: It's Lent. We need to do our best to keep up our Lenten discipline.
First and foremost, there's no reason to let all the hubbub or the stress it can create impinge on your spiritual life. Not that this won't bring challenges. Sometimes, depending on your tolerance for stress or that of others around you, it can be hard to concentrate. If that's the case, don't drive yourself crazy. You can simply do your best to pursue your morning routine that includes prayer, reading good spiritual works, studying Scripture, etc. Under normal circumstances, distractions can horn their way into these pious practices. How to you handle those?
I just plow ahead. I ask God for help. And if the distractions persist, I recognize that this may actually be something either coming from or permitted by God.
He does stuff like this to test us. But more so, He does this so we can check in with our humility meter. Being distracted shows us how much we need to rely on Him, rather than ourselves. It can be disconcerting to admit that we can't hold a thought or pursue our prayers in a fashion that we consider appropriately disciplined. All these sorts of thoughts likely stem from pride. Frankly, most of us think a lot of ourselves. And we don't like seeing ourselves easily distracted or weak-willed. That's where humility can enter the picture. If we find ourselves humbled, even humiliated, by our lack of self-discipline, so much the better. If it scratches even the tiniest crust of pride off of us, we should be grateful.
So stick to it. Put it all in the Hands of a Loving Father. Don't fret, even if you find yourself plowing through it all with little feeling or comprehension. If anything, try to slow down. If that means you read a little less, or even maybe eliminate completely one of your usual practices due to time constraints, so be it. With good intentions and honest effort, you've covered your bases. Our Father understands how weak we really are.
Of course, the time constraints may have shifted these days. So many of us aren't commuting anymore. That may give us a cushion of time to spend with our pious practices. Maybe it frees up some precious moments to simply recognize God's Presence, to tell Him you love Him. Ideally, we're doing this at certain discreet moments during our usual workday. But, naturally, that's not always the case. So we can count our blessings if we've got a chunk or two of "extra" time to grab a few discreet moments with Our Father, Our Saviour, the Holy Spirit, Our Blessed Mother.
Now some practical considerations regarding working from home.
Some of us already spend some or all of our time working from home. If that's the case, there's no real change these days - except for the distractions caused by our concern for the progress of this disease and its potential impact on either our own health of that of our loved ones. Again, such distractions shouldn't surprise us and shouldn't throw us for a loop. Accept them as normal. Handle them as best you can. But keep getting back to the task at hand.
If you're already a disciplined home-office worker, you know the task at hand remains the basic building block of any workday. Check your plate. Pick up what's on it. Handle it. Rinse. Repeat. There's no reason any of this has to change.
If we're not used to working at home, some of us may find it difficult to keep our concentration persist in attending to our daily tasks. If you haven't already figured this out, if at all possible, find a location in your home that's somewhat - or completely - isolated from the family. (They're all likely home too. Kids are out of school. If your spouse works outside the home, maybe she's now home in the same situation.)
If quarters are tight, this may not be possible. You may have to talk to the family and set up a kind of common schedule of some sort. After all, unless the kids are on spring break, they should be "at school" however their schools have arranged this. Maybe everyone agrees that from 9 - noon everyone works - as quietly as possible. Then you take a lunch break. (Heck, it might be fun having lunch with the family during the week, no?) Then everyone's back to work in the afternoon. And if the kids' school work ends - as it normally does - sometime around 3, then, well, maybe there's homework to keep them occupied - and relatively quiet - until let's say, 5 PM.
See how this might work?
Some final thoughts concern those of us who may have lost our source of income. The most obvious: workers in closed retail establishments, waiters being the prime example. If you're out of work, you're not alone. I know that's not necessarily going to lift your spirits, but the fact is there are likely hundreds of thousands of folks like you.
Okay, you already likely know that you should be trusting God here. If you've got some savings cushion or family to help out, it's easier to do this. If you've been living paycheck to paycheck, and you don't really have potential family support, it might be harder. Pressing financial matters create stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety makes it harder to tell yourself it's all in God's Hands. Maybe your intellect acknowledges this; but it also likely wonders how you're going to pay the rent, buy food, etc.
Frankly, I don't have a lot of practical solutions to offer here. Just remember this won't last forever. And when current circumstances change, maybe you look at how you're running your financial life and make some changes. I recognize that not all of us can do this, but certainly, some of us can stop spending so much and start saving. Having some money socked away helps a lot when emergencies happen.
COVID-19 may pass without killing too many of us or causing a lot of us to have to get to a hospital. The thing is, right now, we just don't know. Information we've received isn't necessarily accurate. We're dealing with this, in many ways, "on the fly." We're learning as we go. Not always the best way to handle emergencies, but sometimes the only way.
Let's all at the very least pray for each other. Even those of us who are in better shape than others to handle things financially still must face the health scare.
One thing that hasn't changed, that's common to all of us, whatever our situation, we're all members of the Church Militant. Daily struggle always had been and always will be our lot in life. One way or another, we face a daily battle. War remains a heartbeat away, even if we're not always aware of it. For many if not most of us, that awareness has just increased exponentially. The bullets are flying, the bombs are dropping.
Final thought, with this reality of "war" in mind: They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. We Catholic men should have always understood this. If, for some reason, this has never sunk in, it likely will now.
Oh, and let's not forget: It's Lent. We need to do our best to keep up our Lenten discipline.
We adore Thee O Christ, and we bless Thee,
Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
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