Ohio COVID Restrictions Lifted Today | Why All Things Matter

 

This is a bittersweet day. By orders of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, all COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, with the exception of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. I imagine this is how an innocent person who went to prison would feel upon release. There is the joy of returned freedom, but yet a certain bitterness at having been unjustly jailed in the first place. What was taken from us can never be returned. 

To switch gears for a moment, over the Memorial Day weekend I attended the funeral of a 13-year-old girl who died in a house fire. Oh the heaviness of my soul. In the wake of tragic events such as these, it seems that we often reflect upon what is truly important in our lives and remind ourselves not to worry over petty little things. Surely there are lessons to be learned in this regard.

However, my reaction to the loss of this sweet, beautiful child was different than what I've experienced with past griefs. The message my spirit received was that all things matter. Everything in life matters. Most of our days are not filled with special occasions and momentous decisions. Everyday life is a process of small moments and seemingly trivial details. I'm coming to believe that exactly because life is so fragile, and we never know what destiny awaits us, the most simple choices we make every hour of our existence contain profound meaning and significance. 

The significance of this day of liberation for my state from the coronacult madness is the acknowledgement that while things may go back to "normal" on the surface, we must remain vigilant. Permanent damage has been done, and we will not know the full repercussions for years to come. We must not fall back into complacency.

There are plenty of those who don't want to step out of the prison and freely breathe again. They love their masks. They continue to live in an unholy fear, with their top priority being nothing greater than the avoidance of death. 

I have a family reunion coming up at the end of the month. The day before DeWine's announcement in May of his plan to lift restrictions, I was told that people would be expected to wear masks in the food line, despite it being an outdoor reunion, and so not even subject to the current mandate. I rejected this scenario, which resulted in a bit of friction. So when I learned a few days later of DeWine's June 2 date for mandate release, I thought the debate about masks at the family gathering would be settled. However, I then heard that it would depend upon whether or not attendees had been vaccinated! 

I will generally not be sharing my vaccination status, as my medical records are private, and so are everyone else's. To be told you have to wear a mask if you have not been vaccinated would be a gross overstepping of boundaries. Even to be asked whether or not you are vaccinated is just plain rude. But to be segregated publicly into groups of those who have and have not received the jab, which I've heard is happening even in some churches, is a violation of human dignity and equality. 

I don't think we are out of the woods yet. The tension around COVID and vaccines will continue to fester, and I have no doubt that we will see both minor and major explosions to come.

Today brings a sense of relief but also a sober reminder not to take our freedoms for granted. It's a call to remain aware of events, to stay tuned to the truth, and to be diligent in fighting the good fight. This whole ordeal exposed the fact that our country is not merely divided along political lines; we are in fact inhabiting contradictory realities. It does matter what reality you choose, and it's extremely important who we allow into our sacred spaces.

By this, I mean what people and ideas enter our homes, our hearts, our social media connections, our news sources, our places of worship, even where we shop and do business. The coming together of like-minded communities around matters of patriotic, religious, and personal freedom is imperative, as is pushing back against the tide of woke socialist evil. 

Our ensouled bodies are sacred, and every element of our lives in them must be treated as such and protected. The path forward must be the proverbial road less traveled. 

Rules.

Every May I go on a weekend long dance retreat in Loveland, OH. When I returned from my annual trip last month, Beezy informed me with a big smile that she and her dad had broken all of my rules while I was gone. Rules? I have rules? I was not aware of this. I don't think that "strict" is an adjective people would generally apply to me. So I was very curious to know what were these rules that it was apparently such a joy to break! There were only two mentioned--Beezy slept in my space on the bed, and she and her dad wrestled at bedtime. I disapprove of rough-housing right before bed, as Beezy usually has a hard time falling asleep as it is. Yep, I'm hard core all right! Nearly a bastion of rules.

I do have rules about no running in the house, and if friends come to play, they are required to help clean up before they leave. But mostly we just naturally run on principles, and any rules follow from those. Maybe this is because of my Montessori background. I believe that children should know the reasons behind any restrictions. Only this way can interior motivation to do the right thing exist. Arbitrarily imposed rules set only for the convenience of adults don't fulfill that ultimate goal. Because I'm the adult and I said so... What does this teach? Children learn that if they want power, they have to be bossy, even bullies, to get it.

Increasingly I am aware of the nature of conflicts with others over my parenting style. We are coming from an entirely different paradigm. For example, when Beezy hit someone, I would talk to her about how that makes the other person feel, and that we don't want to hurt people, and that when we do, we make amends. I would also seek to understand the reason, the need underlying the behavior. The mainstream response would be to belittle and punish, to think badly of the child, and by extension, the parents. What are those people doing wrong in raising their child, that she would hit someone? One thing that has always stuck with me was the teaching of my Montessori training, that these children have only lived on this earth for three or four or six years. They have not had the time and experience that adults have had to learn to control such impulses and to find better ways to communicate their needs.

Even among adults, instances of throwing things, hitting, cursing, and screaming are not rare. For a child, the impulse to kick, hit, yell, or throw something comes quite naturally. What good can come from punishment with more of the same? Or even the shaming of a time out or taking away a toy? Children begin to believe that they are "bad," and people who think they are bad often do very bad things. We witness constantly a gross lack of empathy in the world. A complete disconnect from the idea of putting oneself into the shoes of another, and trying to understand. If empathy is not role modeled for children, and is withheld from them, how can they learn it?

Jesus admonishes us to become like children if we want to get to heaven. I think he is asking us to put ourselves into their smaller shoes, to see His light shining in their eyes. Too often adults do not take the time to observe what is really going on with a child. We take the easy way out. The lazy way. When Beezy is all grown up, I want to be able to echo the poetic words of Robert Frost: But I, I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.