The new normal and the value of patience

The new normal

The old normal

What is normal, anyway?

Different styles

A unifying approach

To the pandemic guideline

To wear a face covering

When out in public

For essential life preserving tasks

Such as grocery shopping

On the sidewalk

Along the length of the parking lot

We stand dutifully

Six feet apart from one another

Prompted by orange plastic traffic cones

Marking our spots

As the sparsely populated parking lot

Is unusually quiet

And shopping carts are handed off from one person to another without

Touching each other

The shopping cart exchange looks like

A passing of a baton in a 400 relay race that we

Won’t be seeing in the 2020 Olympics

Until 2021

I watch this going on

As I step forward when prompted by the attentive

And helpful grocery store clerk who keeps order

Along the line of shoppers

Waiting their turn

Oddly scenes juxtapose for me

As they appear in my awareness

For example, as I step together, pause

Step together, pause

I remember the times entering a church

In a wedding procession

Or the times I waited my turn

In a congregant line to receive communion

I feel a deep sense of poignancy

And notice an even deeper sense

Of patience

Which is not normally a strongsuit

Normally…

Huh

What is normal

What is new about this new normal

I have time to consider this

As I stand in line

For my turn

To enter the grocery store

Mask on face

Heart on sleeve

Quiet

Reverent

In no rush

to enter

the store

And yet

happy

receive.

Okay, your turn:

What does the new normal mean to you? What are you noticing?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!