You may have heard quite a bit recently, about how things will look different moving forward. Restaurants and cafes working out new seating arrangements, schools coming up with new ways of running, workplaces entertaining the idea of teams working a lot more from home.

Sometimes it can feel quite overwhelming, but then there are also the thoughts out there of what have we learnt during this time, about ourselves, our habits, the wider community and beyond. We have heard stories of Papatuanuku having a chance to breathe once more and to heal. We have seen how communities have got together and connected while still abiding by physical distancing rules.  We have seen how there have been some amazing fundraising efforts still going on. We have seen how people have reconnected, and even been trying new activities.

I feel there needs to be a balance between the two, to comprehend the seriousness of what the situation could have been, but also to really acknowledge some of the things that have come out of this time too. At a team hui last week, the word rhythm came up three times. After it had come up twice, I thought to myself if it comes up once more I will write about it. Sure enough…

Whether it is the rhythm of the moon and the tides, the seasons changing, the beginning and ending of old relationships and the beginning of ones, whether it is doors closing while others open, whether it is the rhythm of the sun rising, only to set again in the evening.  All rhythms constantly happening in our world, consciously or not.

While I was writing I went to substitute the word routine, but it didn’t feel right. Maybe routine was common in our world before COVID, but maybe finding our rhythm is key now.  We have experienced what a slower world feels like, we have made do without access to a lot of shops for a fair few weeks now, we have been without the pressures of go, go, go, where busyness seems to be a status of success or something to compete with.

How could the rhythm of your life change in a positive way moving forward? What are some things that you may have done differently recently that could be sustainable?

Henry David Thoreau said “if a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears the beat of a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”