“…more harmony, more patience, a greater sense of purpose…more peace”

For me one benefit of being on lockdown during the Covid-19 crisis has been the opportunity to refocus on the more important activities in my life and the “letting go” of the less important ones.

Over the past several years, I had found myself “just saying YES” to requests for help and adding “activities” while not giving any thought to or consideration of the impact on me or my family. I realized that something needed to be done.

To start with, I found myself turning to our Pastor: The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy for inspiration.

And I received the guidance I needed.

Christ Jesus’ command “Love thy neighbor as thyself” came to my thought. To truly “Love thy neighbor,” I needed to put this into practice. So I began to be more aware of my neighbors, stopping to say hello, exchanging a greeting or a smile, and carrying on conversations. I found that “time” was slowing down during this Covid-19 crisis… and I could as well. The results were remarkable. I found myself having more meaningful conversations with my neighbors, exchanging ideas, and truly getting to know them better. The benefits have been meeting more neighbors and forming new friendships.

Near the end of 2020, when the idea of preparing New Year’s resolutions came to mind, I took a different approach to setting goals for the year. Instead of beginning with listing all the things or activities or goals I wanted to accomplish, I turned to what MBE has to say about what’s important. A familiar citation from Science and Health came to mind.

“What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” (SH p. 4:3–5)

That became my New Year’s Resolution and allowed me to identify what “good deeds” I needed to focus on. It didn’t take me long to make a list.

It became immediately apparent that the activities that did not make the list were the ones that I could wind down and stop doing. And that is what I did. A clear path emerged for this winding down, leaving plenty of time to make progress with the “good deeds.”

Some of the blessings so far have been more harmony, more patience (with myself, my family, and others), a greater sense of purpose in my life, and more peace.

I am truly grateful for this experience of turning to our Pastor for guidance and for the blessings I have received and continue to receive.