Let it find us doing ordinary things
"The Stone Table" at C.S. Lewis Park in Belfast. Wikimedia Commons photo
The goal of a writer is to pen words that inspire, educate or entertain, but sometimes, when the world feels heavy, it’s challenging to think of a topic that will resonate. As a decade-long columnist for The Smoky Mountain News, my readers have come to mean a lot to me.
I’ve shared personal joys, sorrows, failures and accomplishments. I’ve worked through grief, guilt and growth by putting my stories out into the world. I’ve made connections with many of you through emails or chance encounters on Main Street or in a grocery store. Thank you for reading and for being part of my personal metamorphosis. To me, this column is much more than a piece of printed paper. It’s part of who I am, and my own emotional state often drives the topic and tone.
Coming out of a month where our country has experienced wildfires, plane crashes, human persecution and significant political divisiveness, it seems insensitive to craft prose about routine life events. Then again, maybe readers would prefer I write about my older son getting his license or planning a summer vacation out west or the fact that I challenged myself to write a novel in two months and succeeded. There have been quite a few exciting things going on in my personal life, but at this moment, it feels a bit dissociative to write about all of that. Maybe soon, if our collective energy stabilizes, my motivation for traditional storytelling will return.
Recently I was reminded of words written by C.S. Lewis in 1948 when the world was reeling from the massive devastation of World War II. Lewis wrote an essay called “On Living in an Atomic Age.” Below is an excerpt.
“If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things — praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts — not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
I remember during the days of COVID-19 when this same excerpt was being shared and certain words were replaced. It read something like this:
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“If we are all going to be destroyed by a pandemic, let the virus find us doing sensible and human things — praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts — not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about sickness. It may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but it need not dominate our minds.”
We can replace “atomic bomb” with anything — pandemic, hurricane, flood, wildfire, plane crash, guns, political control and so on. The sentiment is the same. If we are “huddled together like frightened sheep,” what good comes of that? Frightened sheep are frozen in place. Frightened sheep have forgotten how to care for themselves or their flock. Frightened sheep panic. Frightened sheep are more likely to be destroyed by a predator.
When we allow fear to dominate our minds, we stay in a low frequency, a place where there is no room for humor, enlightenment, problem solving or love. I like how C.S. Lewis’s list of “sensible and human” activities still rings true today, even though it was written almost 80 years ago. To me, that shows how little we change over time. Reading, listening to music, praying, mediating, taking care of my children, doing good work, teaching and helping others, going outside to walk or hike or run, sitting with friends at a local bar, laughing and sharing stories. These are the reasons we exist. These are the ways our souls grow.
Those of you who use the drone of national news outlets as background noise to your daily lives, turn it off. Those of you who scroll through social media each time your hands are idle, find the will to stop. Those of you who fall prey to sensationalism and fake news, trust your gut and stop believing everything you read.
While it would be easy to succumb to fear and sometimes even justified, if a “bomb” is going to drop on us, let it find us doing ordinary things. Let it find us taking care of our people, sharing our talents, and remembering what it truly means to be human.
(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)
