Breaking the ‘as-usual’ mold

WE have to be wary of our strong tendency to fall into

routine that can spawn many other anomalies such as complacency,

spiritual lukewarmness, mediocrity, a self-satisfaction that seeks no

further improvement in oneself, etc.

            It’s true that many times we do the same things day in and

day out. But we should try our best that we avoid falling into simply

doing them mechanically, that is, mindlessly and/or deprived of the

love that is always needed in all our activities.

            Besides, with how things are now, many times we really

have to react to the ways things are done usually because of the many

imperfections such ways have. That is why many people give a negative

connotation of resignation or surrender when they say ‘politics as

usual,’ for example, or ‘business as usual.’

            We have to see to it that whatever we are doing, even if

it is done in a routine way due to its nature, should be done with

love. Where there is love, everything will always appear and feel new

and fresh even if it is done a thousand times in a day and even for a

long period of time. We would never get used to them.

            With love, there will be no boredom at all. Tiredness will

hardly be felt. The dangers of stress are properly handled. There will

always be some kind of drive and zeal, a sensation of excitement,

thrill and suspense.

            Of course, this is easier said than done. Given our human

condition, we cannot deny that we are easily prone to all these

not-so-welcome situations of boredom, tiredness, stress, etc. But we

have a way of dealing with these predicaments.

            And what is this way? It is the way that Christ taught and

showed. It is to actively look for the reason to love, which in the

end is a matter of looking for God. Otherwise, we would just succumb

to our human limitations and weaknesses, and put ourselves prone to

temptations.

            “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you,” Christ said. (Mt 7,7) In

other words, we should not just wait for some special inspiration to

come to us for us to continue loving God through what we are doing. We

have to actively look for love, for God in the routine things we do.

            And neither should we just have that attitude of following

where the things will lead us, a rather popular meme among some young

people today. Given our limited, not to mention, weakened and wounded

condition, if we just follow where things will lead us, then sooner or

later will we find ourselves nowhere, or confused, if not lost.

            We have to actively look for God, by making acts of faith,

hope and love. In that way, even in situations that challenge or go

beyond our comprehension and our human condition, we can still manage

to do things with love.

            And this should be done irrespective of whether our moods,

our physical, emotional, psychological and intellectual condition at a

given moment are favorable or not in making those acts of faith, hope

and love.

            In this way, we would be asserting our spiritual and

supernatural bearing, freeing ourselves from the grip of our purely

material and worldly condition. And we would get to see things

differently.

            Even the negative events—the difficulties, challenges,

even the failures, setbacks, etc.—acquire meaning, shed new lights,

provide new angles of understanding. As St. Paul would put it, “all

things work together for good to them that love God.” (Rom 8,28)

            We have to help one another acquire the skill of breaking

the ‘as-usual’ mentality and lifestyle, so common these days. We have

to help everyone to do things with real love, so that even in their

routine activities, they will see things always new and fresh, and

urged to embark on an adventure of love.