The Greatest Tool We'll Have to Get Through What's Going On and What's Likely to Come

If you've followed the last few posts, you may recall the issues our C-Virus mess has created for the near-term. We focus on these even as we admit that the longer-term is best left in God's hands. It seems to be a prudent approach. And to help us address our short-term concerns, we're going to focus on building our Interior Life. It will be our greatest tool in addressing whatever the world has thrown and is about to throw at us. Why? It's go to do with peace and stability.

We need both peace and stability in our lives as a general rule. If you haven't recognized the merit in this before, maybe the mess we're in now will convince you. The way most of us have lived for decades was turned upside down. And not simply upside down, but kicked around the room as well. With pieces flying here and landing there, some of us have trouble making heads or tails of it all.

We're in a new world. Will it replace the old? Maybe not 100%. But it seems a good bet that some things will never be the same.

The most important takeaway from recent posts might be this: Much of the dislocation of our lives remains hidden, unknown even to us. Here's one way to understand this on an immediate personal level:

Look around. Wherever you live, look around. Maybe you know your neighbors - at least some of them - maybe you don't. What sort of state are they in now? Are they working? If you don't know them, how would you know. When someone works from home - as so many have been doing - you have no idea whether they're currently employed or not. Are they making their mortgage or rent payments? Same deal. 

What about their health, the health of their families? A quick example: One of our neighbors, who was particularly, visibly sociable, virtually disappeared for weeks on end when the lock-downs began. Was he playing it safe to avoid getting the virus. Was he quarantining because he had it? Is he in a hospital? I saw his wife a few times. But before I could ask her, he suddenly appeared, looking fit as a fiddle. There've been other examples of this as well.

In normal times (and will these ever return?), we might wonder what's up with this or that neighbor from time to time, but it typically takes some obvious trigger to cause real concern.  But now any little change in pattern or behavior could cause us to wonder what's up.

Another anecdote: Speaking with the owner of a local deli we patronize, I learned that the folks with food stamp cards (EBT) - which the store accepts - have been given what the owner described as "huge" balances to spend. She's not begrudging anyone who needs money for food. But having served some of these folks for years, she's wondering why they need so much money now. She also noted that "we" (she, and the rest of us who pay taxes from our earned money) are paying for all this. She then opined about a neighbor's kid who's collecting that $600 federal unemployment check (expired but soon to be renewed?). He had a menial job in a nursing home that paid him maybe a third of his unemployment. He's got no reason to seek employment. Again "we're" paying for all this.

The tone of her comments wasn't resentful. Just incredulous. She knows our city, our state, and our federal government have no "surplus" money to pay for all this (and it's just the tip of the iceberg of government largess). So she figures our taxes (income, property, sales, etc.), even our utilities should begin rising. Water's already increased. She works hard for her money, and she's concerned that more of it will be taken from her, maybe more than she'll be able to afford. (BTW, I'd hardly spoken more than three words to her before this.)

The point: Lots remains hidden. What's hidden may be masking potentially serious issues for family, neighbors, friends (Even if we're all communicating with family and friends, it doesn't mean troubles may not be lurking below the surface.). As the weeks and months unfold, we'll likely see what's hidden exposed. Kind of like that EBT issue. I had no idea of what's going on with that. Did you?

On a broader scale, using our city as an example, the place has been drowning in financial distress, with crime increasing steadily for a number of years. But COVID has masked this to a great degree. The mayor blames the disease for our financial mess. (Just as absurd, almost comical, the governor blames the cops for the increase in crime - saying they're not doing their jobs. Of course they can't do their jobs when the city and state have gelded them with ridiculous new rules about how they make arrests, in addition to courts that let just about every perp out as soon as they're arrested.)

All of this was in the works before COVID. Crime was rising before the ridiculous new rules, but has jumped noticeable after. I suspect a lot of "normal" citizens may be aware of this. But our politicians have hidden behind COVID and the lockdowns - convenient excuses for failure of leadership.

Okay, I'm getting carried away here. For the peace and stability I need now, it's time to focus on my Interior Life. Yep, we're finally back to where we started today's discussion. 

Now, to be sure, we're talked about the Interior Life many times in the past. Maybe some of us have been working on our Interior Lives, maybe not. Whatever your situation, here's a suggestion: If you've already been working at building your Interior Life, double your efforts. If you've never made a start, it's time you do.

You will never find greater peace and stability than that which springs from a strong Interior Life. 

I hope you can see why I think we're all going to need a mature, robust Interior Life to get through all of this mess in the short-term. And in the long run, we'll all be better off for it. While we've made various suggestions to that effect before, now, given the urgency, we're going to focus next time on a very practical recommendation from a book written in the 20th century to promote the Interior Life. I was fortunate enough to stumble on this great work a couple of months ago and have been reading it thoughtfully and prayerfully ever since. I can tell you that it's already been a great boon to my Interior Life. 

What's particularly gratifying about the practical recommendation we'll share next time is this: It's helped not only my Interior Life, but also has enhanced my work life at every level.

Meanwhile, no matter what the future holds, shorter or longer term, let's resolve to never allow what the world throws at us to throw us off our game when it comes to our Interior Life.