2020 seems to be the year we cancel events in a much more relaxed manner without the customary hand-wringing and false guilt of previous years. Perhaps we may pick up whatever event we have have lost mañana (a helpful Spanish word meaning 'sometime in the future)?
The above plaque in Windsor Reserve, Devonport is clearly not true. History records quite a few things that happened at Devonport in the year 1897. Apparently, the plaque was secretly laid at night around April Fool's 1978 and is a monument to the humour of Devonport born man, Terry Sheehan, who once declared himself "King of Devonport". Sheehan was born locally, known for his involvement with rugby, charity fundraising, advertising, publishing and joke telling. He died in 2013 aged 79.
It might seem like nothing is doing, but perhaps we need to pay attention. I have to be careful to deliberately self-motivate this week, because that thing has happened to me where we stopped doing things in lock down and it's challenging to start them up again, or even remember what day they belong on. I could just sit here drooling on my keyboard.
On the upside, the absence of mass gatherings has enabled us to cultivate the inner life by reading and other thoughtful pursuits. As I confessed last time I had been reading Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong. I've moved on to The Dance of Anger now. Hopefully soon I'll have some ideas on how to turn the inner rage we can all experience into positive action instead of a series of hot air explosions. Stay tuned.
A personal observation - I find prayer on its own can get off track and wander about like the Israelites fumbling through the wilderness. Prayer following reading and/or writing goes much better. If your busy event is still cancelled, try cultivating the interior life. There's no time like the present.
Comments