Learn New Tricks in the New Normal
JESUS’ SENSE OF HUMOR
September 3, 2020
DO NOT JUDGE…
September 4, 2020PITIK-BULAG: Learn New Tricks in the New Normal
The lingering pandemic brings a lot of emotional stress to all of us. The whole world is suffering for more than six months since March. We begin to develop deep anxieties and fears. We may be free from the COVID physically, but sick emotionally.
There are reasons why we are stressed at the moment: First, we are not in control of many things like before. Second, we are not prepared and trained to face the lingering epidemic emotionally. Third, the future is beyond our sight. We don’t know when will it end and what the future holds. Fourth, many remained in their “compare and complaint” behavior. Fifth, we remain in our denial stage, we resist the new normal. We hope to return to the old normal soon. Sixth, we are not ready to embrace the new normal and let go of the old ways. We are physically present in the now, but our hearts and minds are either in the past (comparing our life today) or in the future (thinking when will this pandemic ends?). Or for some of us, we dwell too much on our fears and anxieties. We cannot accept that in order to survive the pandemic emotionally, we are asked to EMBRACE THE NEW NORMAL and SEEK THE GRACES OF THE NEW NORMAL. Unless we embrace the new normal and let go of the old, our stress will stay with us. And we shall remain in our complaining and comparing mode.
Let’s slowly embrace the new normal. The trick to manage our stress and creatively move on is to embrace the new normal. This was the lesson of our gospel today. The Pharisees and scribes were questioning why the disciples were not fasting and offering prayers like the rest of the Jews? They failed to recognize that JESUS WAS THE SIGNPOST OF THE NEW WORSHIP. Jesus was not ignoring the old the tradition, He was simply practicing the new of way living in the Spirit – an active faith based on love, faith, and justice. Not merely doing the old rituals in the past. Unfortunately, the religious leaders were not capable of embracing new ways of faith. They lack humility and thrill to UNLEARN THE OLD WAYS AND ADOPT NEW WAYS of adoring God. The main problem of the religious leaders was their CLOSED DISPOSITION TO CHANGE. In the end, they lost their creativity, adaptability, and thrill to seek new things. Growth comes when someone begins to entertain new things.
Thus, the Lord said the following parable:
“No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.'” (Luke 5: 36-39).
In the midst of this pandemic, are you still in the denial and questioning stage? Are you still in the comparing and complaining mode? Are you moving significantly from the fear stage to the learning stage to the growth stage? if not, why?
Our stress comes from our failure to control everything. In this pandemic, we cannot control things and situations, but we can manage our reactions to all these things.
The only way to survive the pandemic is to embrace the new way of living and seeing things. Begin counting your blessings and not your miseries. Stay in the now, and not in the past nor future. Choose to be positive and active. Leave your comfort zones. Ignore your fears and anxieties. Stretch your mind and bring out new possibilities. Pray at all times and ask the Lord to send forth the Holy Spirit for guidance. Pray for the gift of openness to embrace the new normal. And see the new graces in the new normal.
Learn new tricks in the new normal. You’re not an old dog. You can still learn new things, wear a new disposition, and be more pro-active. The COVID virus is here to stay until the vaccine is found. Waiting and doing nothing is dangerous. Be more creative. Learn to be happy and optimistic in the midst of uncertainty. Practice your faith. Trust God. Few baby steps of living in the new normal is better than living in your anxieties. Learn new tricks. Nothing is impossible in God.
– Pitik-Bulag
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September 4, 2020 – Friday
