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. 

Starting My Day Differently | Intermittent Fasting | Earthing

 

Today I began a lifestyle reset, and already I can report excellent results! First, I didn't drink any coffee. Instead, I drank two cups of Earl Grey tea, so I've had substantially less caffeine than usual. Coffee tends to upset my stomach, jangle my nerves, and dehydrate me, and I suffered none of these adverse effects from the tea. 

But before I even had the tea, I brushed my teeth and then drank a cup of water with slices of lemon and a few ice cubes. I took it outside, raised my eyes to soak in some sunlight, and walked barefoot on the grass. The latter practice is called earthing. My chiropractor mentioned it to me, so last year, once it was warm enough, I began starting my day this way. You can read the list at the top of the page of all the amazing benefits.

The basic idea is that connecting your feet to the earth grounds you. The earth's electrons, which give off a naturally negative electrical charge, flow through you, and this helps to neutralize the electrons in our bodies. I notice a positive boost in my mood from just a few minutes of walking barefoot on the grass. 

The quality of sleep we get each night is influenced by what we do from the moment we wake up in the morning. Getting exposed to sunlight first thing helps to set one's circadian rhythms for wakefulness during the day and better sleep at night, and the earthing practice also promotes healthy sleep patterns. 

For breakfast, I usually have fig bars with my coffee or tea (Nature's Bakery brand are whole grain), but I find that, like the hobbits, I function best if I have "second breakfast". So today, awhile after eating the fig bars, I had a slice of avocado toast and vegetarian sausage. 

Another practice with many health benefits is intermittent fasting. This basically means that you eat all of your food in a window of a set number of hours. Inspired by Jennifer L. Scott of "The Daily Connoisseur" blog and YouTube channel, my goal is an eight hour window. However, I find that I sometimes need to give myself an extra hour. This afternoon I went to the greenhouse and planted flowers, which ran into my usual dinner making hour. So I gave myself an extra hour in my eating window.

A window of anywhere from 8 to 10 hours is standard, though some do an even smaller window. Jennifer lost 30 pounds in a year just from practicing intermittent fasting. I am hoping to lose weight as well, to make healthier dietary choices and avoid snacking in the evenings, and to optimize my metabolism and general health. 

Before getting showered and ready for the rest of the day, I had devotional time with my breakfast. I find that prayer and spiritual reading in the mornings set the tone for my entire day, helping me to be more calm, happy, patient, and productive. It also helped immensely that I slept through the night and got a solid 9 hours. Praise God! 

The last thing I did differently this morning was to take quercetin and homepathic allergy treatments instead of my usual Claritin. I want to taper off all my prescription and OTC meds and replace them with natural remedies and dietary changes. For now I'm still taking my nighttime asthma medicine, plus Benadryl, but I'm cutting down on that. I ran out of Flonase nasal spray and don't plan to refill my prescription. I also used my neti pot this morning and will make that a regular part of my daily routine. 

I got a lot done today, enjoyed myself, and spent quality time with my daughter while my husband was out of town. Every day may not go so smoothly, but I feel encouraged that I am setting myself up for success with better habits around food, sleep, and time in the sun. Now I'm going to take an evening stroll to cap off a lovely day! 

To Strengthen and Exercise the Will

 

This is the students' motto of a Charlotte Mason education, and today I am focusing on the fourth everyday duty of Achieving Peace of Heart, to strengthen and exercise my will (decision and constancy).  If you have missed the discussion so far, it begins with the Feb. 15 post.

When I was younger I was interested in yoga. I remember reading a piece of advice on the subject, which was to just show up on the mat. Whether the practice of yoga is fitting for Christians or not is a matter of hot debate, and it is not today's topic. The point is that when it comes to the way of the will, the first step is to just show up. 

Some days, I feel anxiety first thing upon waking, and I don't even want to get out of bed. I might then grab my rosary and just show up to prayer. Or I might hear the dogs wanting to go out, so I show up for that small duty. As the morning goes on, I show up in the kitchen to make coffee and put away the clean dishes. I show up to put in the first load of laundry. I have my breakfast and show up to read the Scriptures for the daily Mass. 

Every time I fight acedia to show up to do the next right thing, I am exercising my will. When I make the decision to cook dinner for my family, to write out my daughter's homeschool assignments, even to simply take a shower and get dressed, I can claim a little victory. In these days of agitation and uncertainty, sometimes I forget that I am a daughter of God; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; I ought to do my duty to God, to myself, and to others; and I will choose the right. 

When I neglect my duties and struggle to maintain my routines, I feel my peace slipping away. I feel guilty, which modern society insists is taboo. Should is a four-letter word. And anyway, what is the purpose of it all?? The truth is, there is good guilt and bad guilt, and we need to heed our conscience. This is impossible to do without Silence. So I do my best to find Silence first, then balance times of prayer, work, study, and rest. Curiously, there is no true leisure without the tending to responsibility, and there is no space for creativity without structure. 

The beauty of it all is that we can always begin again, each day, in each moment. If your conscience convicts you, take ownership of your failure and forgive yourself. Clinging to the guilt is the bad part. Just show up to accomplish those four, everyday duties with joy and trust in the Lord, and your purpose will be revealed. 

Goose (an original poem)

I am a goose shot 

straight out of the air,

strung together by the neck 

with others shot for sport--

Misery always has company,

like it or not. 

The Misguided Sheep | Far from the Madding Crowd

 

My husband and I recently watched the 2015 movie version of Far from the Madding Crowd, based on the Thomas Hardy novel. Carey Mulligan stars as the fiesty, independent heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, with Matthias Schoenaerts playing one of three men vying for her affections, shepherd Gabriel Oak. 

Curiously perhaps, today's Mass readings from the Douay-Rheims Bible reminded me of a scene from this movie. For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand (Psalm 95: 7) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth (Luke 11: 23). 

Farmer Oak is training a new sheep dog to replace his beloved, aging dog, Old George. The younger dog is named Young George. One night, for reasons unknown, Young George jumps into the sheeps' pen, disturbing them to the point that they break free. The renegade pup drives them into a frantic run. Gabriel awakens to the commotion, and by the time he catches up to the flock, he watches in horror as every single sheep plunges over the side of a cliff. The sight of the dead flock on the ocean shore below is chilling. You can guess what happens to Young George. 

Something akin to this is happening in today's society, as we continue to be goaded into a frenzy and feel ourselves falling without a net. Maybe the most disturbing aspect of the coronavirus cult response by government leaders, medical "experts," and much of the population is the "fear porn," as it has been called by some of its opponents. Mainstream news media and big tech social media have conspired with the cult leaders to keep people disempowered, silenced, and terrified. The only break from the maddening narrative we've gotten over the past year has been the Marxist revolt of the Black Lives Matter and Antifa organizations, which have delivered their own brand of fear porn while taking attention away from the Covid Theater. 

The likes of Dr. Fauci, emperor-like state governors and city mayors, some members of the police force, the Marxist groups, and the hard left media have become society's shepherds, and clear marks of their misguided sheep are the citizens complying with mask mandates and lockdowns. The sheep at the bottom of the cliff are those driven to suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and poverty, among the many victims of the coronacult fallout. 

Others, mostly traditional Christians it seems, have found a new fervor of faith, and we have our gaze fixed firmly on our eternal Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. All of the false leaders are truly idols that many have chosen to follow, out of fear, out of lack of faith and the action that it requires. They reject the Way, the Truth, and the Life for a story of despair and bondage. The path of a holy freedom is too narrow, so they enter at the wide gate and refuse to consider turning back. The consequence is an existence frought with anxiety, a loss of one's sense of self, an isolation we were not created to endure. It is nothing short of the crushing of the spirit, the piercing of the soul.

The question is, are you gathering or scattering?  The choice is actually simple, though not easy, and comes down to a daily decision to act either with Faith or in fear. Bathsheba Everdene reacted for a long time out of fear of losing her independence, so she refused to marry. That is, until she inexplicably made an impetuous decision to surrender to the wrong man. Her heart led her astray, as can anyone's. It seems to take forever for our heroine to turn to the shepherd who has always been there for her, who continuously watches over her, waiting with extreme patience for Bathsheba to finally come to her senses. 

This brings me to the third of the everyday duties from Achieving Peace of Heart that I've been exploring and discussing this Lent: to elevate and control my heart (love of God and neighbor).  As Jesus commands that we love our neighbors as ourselves, we must first love God with the entirely of heart, mind, soul, and strength before we will be oriented in the right direction. Putting one's faith in the world's idols puts the whole flock in danger. A heart lifted to God and obedient to his sovereignty puts all other considerations into perspective. 

Recently, "medical" advice was given to parents that if a child was exposed to Covid, he should be isolated in a room by himself for two weeks, with no hugs or any closeness with family members, eating meals alone and doing everything completely by himself. If he were to venture into the hallway to use the restroom, he must be wearing a mask. I can only imagine the emotional scars a child would suffer under such conditions, yet some people think this kind of approach falls under the dictate of common sense. In reality, it's a call to heartlessness. These are the extremes that being in compliance to the absurd has led us to, and if such totalitarianism continues to be allowed, we will see far worse in the future. 

It's imperative that we recognize the evil and stop listening to the barking of orders that has caused this coronacult stampede and its ultimate perilous jump into collective mayhem and madness.  Be the one sheep that is found. 

Sacred Silence | Selah

 

Our Lady of Silence

Of course there is such an icon as Our Lady of Silence! I began to contemplate silence yesterday, and I ordered many (surely too many!) books on the topic from the library. Though I have by no means mastered the everyday duty to strengthen and govern my body, it is time to incorporate the second everyday duty, to feed and enlighten my intellect (see Feb. 15 post). I have sought the meaning of silence in the past, but I am finding the need for more serious, concentrated work in this area. 

As with all things sacred, we find that Satan has produced a diabolical counterfeit, and the spiritual pollution of a deadly sort of silence is to be avoided at all costs. True silence is rooted in the hiddenness and peace of God, in the abiding presence of the divine. A perfect image of such a blessed silence is that of Jesus sleeping in the boat while his apostles are being gripped with fear of the storm raging around them. Even the wind and the sea obey the Lord. Selah. 

James Tissot

The silencing of people for the purpose of controlling them, of striking fear into their hearts that is not the fear of God, is evil. We see this happening all around us today, with the silencing of the perceived enemy being accomplished by calling him racist, white supremacist, homophobic, transphobic, terrorist. We see it in the mass online censorship of voices that do not tow the party line of woke collectivism. 

We see our friends, family members, and neighbors gagged with face masks, unable to properly breathe, which surely should be an unalienable right. We cannot see one another's smiles, or sometimes even discern who is a stranger, and who is someone we know. People with medical conditions are refused goods and services for not masking up, their health exemptions not honored. In short, the disabled are treated as deplorables. We fear to speak or to show our faces, lest we be cancelled. Our lips are shuttered from proclaiming the Gospel. Selah.  

This silencing is the handmaid of a toxic noise. For the entire summer of 2020 we witnessed the chaos of burning and looted buildings, shattered lives and livelihoods, bricks and fire works thrown at people's heads, murder and rape, neighborhoods criminally occupied, police officers with hands tied from any action to mitigate the violence. We witnessed the pulling down and erasing of emblems of our country's history, and even of our Faith, and the menace of a cultural re-education to warp the minds of our children. This is the silent scream, the silence of the devastated and the dead. 

And all of this is called good by folks we once thought sane, in a country once known as brave and free. Selah. 

This is why we must seek a holy silence. We must quiet the counterfeit noise which masquerades as a call for unity and peace. Rather than fighting against the tyranny and oppression of our bodies, minds, and spirits, which will serve only to keep attention on the hellish fire, it's imperative that we determine what we are for. 

We won't undergo that process by steeping ourselves in the news and social media, or by striving to convince others of our point of view. When Christ is your light, you are a city on a hill, and the darkness is forced to flee. The energy and power to fight will only come from the calm center of the Sacred Heart, the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit. We will arise in might only when the path is clear, when we know that He is for us, and we remember who we are and what we are for. But first, we pause. 

Lent is a time for prayer and penance. It's a season of intense contemplation. It is the command to "Be still, and know that I am God." 

Shalom. Selah. 

Our Lady of Sacred Silence, pray for us. 

 

What I'm "Giving Up" for Lent

 Sarah Combs bedroom, designsponge.com

This image came up when I searched for "Spanish minimalist decor." My home is decorated in a Spanish Mediterranean/Mexican hacienda style, with the goal of a colorful and cozy but uncluttered, minimalist aesthetic. Though I don't care for white walls, this bedroom presents the balance of color and interesting objects with a peaceful simplicity that I love. It is, however, lacking in books, which isn't to be tolerated, and I'd add a bit more artwork and personal effects. I find that one must begin with a vision for one's home, beyond the general desire that it be clean, beautiful, and orderly. What does this have to do with Lent?

For past Lenten seasons I've given up clutter, but I was not specific enough regarding how to make that happen in a systematic way. A couple of weeks ago I was contemplating conservative media in a blog post, and I felt at a loss as to how I might give up certain aspects of internet use for Lent. Immediately following that post, I spent a whole day internet free. 

That was a glorious day. I felt much less stressed. I was more productive, finishing all of my daily routines without feeling rushed. I spent plenty of time in contemplative pursuits--praying the Rosary, spiritual reading, and creative endeavors. It was, like, the perfect day! 

Instead of trying to limit internet use each day to a certain amount of time, and/or cutting out particular things entirely, like social media, I'm going to make Wednesdays and Fridays internet-free for the duration of Lent. These are traditional Catholic days of fasting and abstinence. 

As I'm a vegetarian (I don't even eat fish), I don't need to abstain from meat on Fridays. I will replace that with abstaining from internet use. I think we only have a couple of obligatory fasting days during Lent, one of them being tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. I'm going to extend Wednesdays as days of food fasting, in addition to internet abstinence, throughout this liturgical season. This practice will mitigate some of the internet-produced clutter, which is mostly involving that of the mind, but it also clutters up my time. This leads to my next plan for giving up clutter. 

I will work on decluttering my home for a minimum of three hours a week. I initially thought I'd set it at five, but I want to set myself up for success. Five hours is my true goal, but three will suffice. I will keep a log of the time spent decluttering, and use a timer for 15-minute chunks, so as not to overwhelm myself. The time I'm giving up for decluttering will be in addition to my regular housework. 

I think that between the everyday duties for mental health outlined yesterday and this giving up of time away from the internet and toward decluttering, I will grow in virtue, which is the point of Lent. These small sacrifices will have the added benefit of bringing my vision for my home to more perfect life. I will outline my plans for spiritual devotion for Lent later this week. 

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone, and have a blessed Lent!