It is probably obvious that I spend quite a lot of time with young folks, since I teach in a college setting. Some days most of the people I see are between 18-22 years old. I really like doing this. They have come a significant way in life already, but they are also pretty young and inexperienced in many other ways. They often are too confident in what they think they know. My critique of them is too many are not curious enough for their own good. If we think we are pretty smart, we tend to be less convinced we have all that much to learn. Along with this, they are often too narrow.
Sadly, I believe, colleges tell them they need a major in order to get a good job. I don’t deny they need some solid information. If someone is heading to medical school, we do hope they are learning some things! I don’t want my family physician coming into my checkup telling me she does not know too much, but she is a really good person whom I will like! On the other hand, if you get into medical school, it probably does not matter much what you majored in when you were at college. Religion majors can go to medical school; I know few who have done it.
All this is a backdrop to a recent experience. In addition to teaching in the college setting, I also do a fair amount of teaching and speaking in contexts beyond the college. One group I lead has a real range of folks---widespread in age and backgrounds. In a recent gathering of that group, we began by checking in with each other, as we normally do. One young gal who is barely beyond her college time said she was “feeling wobbly.” A few of the other folks smiled with a couple giggles. I was intrigued.
So I pursued it a bit. It turns out her experience in the time of Covid has been very disruptive in her life. Most of us could resonate a little with this. I suspect that even the most stable of us have been buffeted a little in the Covid-time. I asked the gal to elaborate. I found out a long time ago asking questions were my best friend. I can learn so much if I don’t assume, but simply ask someone for more information.
As she began to tell more of her story, feeling wobbly meant that her life was unbalanced and, too often, threatened by what she called chaos. In my language I sensed she felt like she was a sitting duck for things that she could not see coming. As she put it, I don’t have a schedule. She was experiencing a lack of structure. Even though she still had a job, she was working from home. Obviously, the bedroom was only a few steps from the living room, which was also the workspace. She was feeling both the space collapse and the time collapse. Many of us in the group had our own version of this.
Most of us know what wobbly means. It means we are unstable. We can feel wobbly because we are sick, tired or anxious. In England wobbly can mean throwing a fit---like being really angry. As I thought more about it, I decided this was a good way to describe life in a pandemic. You don’t solve this problem of being wobbly. Instead, I think we find some good ways to address it and mitigate what we can. And we deal with the rest. One of the better ways of doing this is to see it, in part, as a spiritual issue. Let’s pursue that.
First, let’s begin with schedule. Often our lives are scheduled (or have a routine) simply by the way we are living. We get up, go to work, etc. Covid time disrupted this. So our choice is to feel wobbly or to choose some schedule on our own. Countless studies tell us to keep regular. Get up when we usually do. Get dressed like we are going to work or do what we normally would do. Covid time actually gave us more control over time, rather than less. Make it work.
Secondly, I suggest we choose some kind of spiritual discipline. It can be an old-time favorite, such a prayer. Or it might be a good time to choose something like meditation, Zen or yoga. The internet is full of helpful programs and hints to help us do this. We don’t need to go anywhere or find a professional. It is all a click away. Choose some time during the day when you are going to do it.
It does not have to be a huge amount of time. Start small and make sure you do it. I suggest we are looking for a couple of things. As a Quaker, I like to talk about being centered. To be centered means I find that Center within, which is the meeting place for God, as I understand it. If I can be centered, then I am not likely to feel wobbly. Oh, it does not mean the buffeting winds of Covid no longer blow my way. But they won’t blow me over! I am centered and anchored in something solid.
Spiritual disciplines also give us another thing we are looking for. They can give us a sense of responsibility and a sense of belonging. The fancy word here is transcendence. I can get beyond myself and link to God, to others and to the world. I do not need to be insecure. I am more than I think I am.
Hope this helps all of us who might feel wobbly.
Sadly, I believe, colleges tell them they need a major in order to get a good job. I don’t deny they need some solid information. If someone is heading to medical school, we do hope they are learning some things! I don’t want my family physician coming into my checkup telling me she does not know too much, but she is a really good person whom I will like! On the other hand, if you get into medical school, it probably does not matter much what you majored in when you were at college. Religion majors can go to medical school; I know few who have done it.
All this is a backdrop to a recent experience. In addition to teaching in the college setting, I also do a fair amount of teaching and speaking in contexts beyond the college. One group I lead has a real range of folks---widespread in age and backgrounds. In a recent gathering of that group, we began by checking in with each other, as we normally do. One young gal who is barely beyond her college time said she was “feeling wobbly.” A few of the other folks smiled with a couple giggles. I was intrigued.
So I pursued it a bit. It turns out her experience in the time of Covid has been very disruptive in her life. Most of us could resonate a little with this. I suspect that even the most stable of us have been buffeted a little in the Covid-time. I asked the gal to elaborate. I found out a long time ago asking questions were my best friend. I can learn so much if I don’t assume, but simply ask someone for more information.
As she began to tell more of her story, feeling wobbly meant that her life was unbalanced and, too often, threatened by what she called chaos. In my language I sensed she felt like she was a sitting duck for things that she could not see coming. As she put it, I don’t have a schedule. She was experiencing a lack of structure. Even though she still had a job, she was working from home. Obviously, the bedroom was only a few steps from the living room, which was also the workspace. She was feeling both the space collapse and the time collapse. Many of us in the group had our own version of this.
Most of us know what wobbly means. It means we are unstable. We can feel wobbly because we are sick, tired or anxious. In England wobbly can mean throwing a fit---like being really angry. As I thought more about it, I decided this was a good way to describe life in a pandemic. You don’t solve this problem of being wobbly. Instead, I think we find some good ways to address it and mitigate what we can. And we deal with the rest. One of the better ways of doing this is to see it, in part, as a spiritual issue. Let’s pursue that.
First, let’s begin with schedule. Often our lives are scheduled (or have a routine) simply by the way we are living. We get up, go to work, etc. Covid time disrupted this. So our choice is to feel wobbly or to choose some schedule on our own. Countless studies tell us to keep regular. Get up when we usually do. Get dressed like we are going to work or do what we normally would do. Covid time actually gave us more control over time, rather than less. Make it work.
Secondly, I suggest we choose some kind of spiritual discipline. It can be an old-time favorite, such a prayer. Or it might be a good time to choose something like meditation, Zen or yoga. The internet is full of helpful programs and hints to help us do this. We don’t need to go anywhere or find a professional. It is all a click away. Choose some time during the day when you are going to do it.
It does not have to be a huge amount of time. Start small and make sure you do it. I suggest we are looking for a couple of things. As a Quaker, I like to talk about being centered. To be centered means I find that Center within, which is the meeting place for God, as I understand it. If I can be centered, then I am not likely to feel wobbly. Oh, it does not mean the buffeting winds of Covid no longer blow my way. But they won’t blow me over! I am centered and anchored in something solid.
Spiritual disciplines also give us another thing we are looking for. They can give us a sense of responsibility and a sense of belonging. The fancy word here is transcendence. I can get beyond myself and link to God, to others and to the world. I do not need to be insecure. I am more than I think I am.
Hope this helps all of us who might feel wobbly.
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