Seeing Clearly

I keep hearing stories of the clear atmosphere around the world, the result of limited burning of fossil fuels. The Himalayan Mountains can be seen hundreds of miles away. Towns in China see the blue sky above, for the first time in generations. The air in New York City smells sweet like spring. The canals of Venice run so clear that people can see down to the depths.

The stillness of the internal combustion engine yields the clearness of the sky and water. Being still helps people see.

And we can also experience another kind of clarity. We can see our culture more clearly. We can see that we had such a dizzying pace of life that few could keep up. We see that we can survive without sports on TV. We can survive without going to the movie theater. We can survive without gathering for worship. We can even survive without haircuts. (Would it be a crime to cross state lines to get a haircut?) We can survive without classroom instruction.

We have the historic privilege and responsibility to add back to our lives, when this is over, only those things that we deem worthy of our time and resources. Some of us have been so busy all our lives that we never took inventory of our schedules. We sure have now.

Make sure that you take this opportunity to see clearly. See the story of your life. Do you like the story? If you want to change the story, there is no better time than today. See clearly where you are headed. See clearly where you have been.

Now envision where you want to go. This is the moment. Prepare now for the new you that emerges from the 2020 pandemic. This is your chance.