When Every Day Is Sunday

On Monday, March 23, 2020, my satellite clock went crazy. Or I did. Because we didn’t agree on the date. I thought that it was March 23, but a glance at the clock on my desk told me it was March 24.

I believed that to be true for an entire day until I looked at my google calendar the next day and realized it was March 24. Again.

It was then that I took a picture of my clock because I knew something was wrong, and that my clock had a message for me.

For two days, it not only told me the wrong date but the wrong day of the week. (March 24 was not a Thursday, it was a Tuesday.)

And then it reset itself.

I understood the message. Nothing is the same. The world has reset itself.

Whether we like it or not, we have new choices to make. Although the tragedy and consequences of this reset are tremendous, we can still be grateful that the world did not reset back to default.

This is a reset in the same way we unplug computers to reset them, or push the button on our phones to reset them. But the choice to reset to factory default is a much more drastic one. Thankfully, that’s not what happened.

Instead we have been given a chance to make new choices, individually, as well as communities, and as countries.

Habits die hard. But I’m grateful that the world is on a reset and not an ending event. We have time to wake up.

And we are, aren’t we? Kindness and gratitude are in the news, almost as much as fear and blaming others.

That’s a reset.

There are fewer traffic deaths, the air is clearer, and the world is quieter. We have been given a chance to stop and think about what we are doing.
Who do we believe? What path do we want to go down?

Leaders in all walks of life have stepped up and accepted responsibility and acted with grace, compassion, and wisdom.
Those that have not are now very visible.

Independence and arrogance are not what is needed now. They never were, but it’s clear what the difference is between those that think as themselves as part of a family, local, and world community and those that believe that they don’t.

This world reset button is giving us time to think things over and make new decisions.

Despite our isolation, we are discovering that we are connected. To everyone. Everywhere. There are not some people better than others. Race, sex, creed, religion, and nationality are dissolved. As they should be.

Could we have learned this lesson before this? Of course. But we didn’t. So a benevolent spirit has reset our lives, giving us as gentle of a wake-up call as it could.

So we have to ask ourselves, when this is over, and it will be, who will we be?

Will we go back to behaving the way we used to, not noticing most of what was going on around us. Or will we have returned to our true nature of kindness and compassion for ourselves and others? Will we have let go of at least some of the habits and beliefs that are not spiritually healthy for anyone?

Now I wave at my neighbors I have never seen before. Even people in cars wave at us as we walk down the street. Before, they never noticed we were there.
Will we forget to look at each other when it’s over?

Will we forget how to use our resources wisely? Will we continue to relook at how we teach our students? Will we have learned that they don’t need eight hours in a classroom to become an excellent student? Will we remember that each child is unique and needs our attention to thrive?

Will we continue to value the front line workers who deliver our packages, take care of our sick, wait on us at the grocery store, and teach our children?

This is our time to use wisely. This is a time when we can ask ourselves, “When this is over, what will I regret not doing?”

Will we be better than before because we all had to stop and think?

No, nothing will ever be the same, and for that, I am grateful.

Now that every day is Sunday, we can take the time to let go of what didn’t serve us, or the world, so that a reset button, or worse, is never needed again.

Footnote:
On April 18, our power went off for an hour. When it came back on, all the clocks were at the right time. No reset was needed. Shall we take as a good sign?
(No – these were no clocks that have batteries in them … we always have to reset them after a power outage.)

You might also enjoy this: What day is it? Why the pandemic warps your sense of time From the CS Monitor.