THIS NEW NORMAL

I so love to breathe the outside air when the rain has passed. And when the sun breaks out, the sky is so bright it hurts my eyes.  My garden is bursting with new life pushing up through the mulch, the decay, the chaff, from dead plants before it.  I think that I know why gardener’s garden. There is something about the cycle of life that reminds us that life is precious and beautiful and that nothing is permanent. If, for example, our Brussel Sprouts do not Brussel. Well then, we try again next year. We change, we adapt, WE grow. We keep trying until our’s are the most amazing Brussel Sprouts. That’s what we do.

“There will be growth in the Spring,” Chance the Gardener said. Of course he is right. Every year he is right. But this spring is different. The chaff of our old routines lay fallow as our new routines, our new normals, takes hold. We should take a lesson from our gardens and let those old routines feed and germinate a rebirth; a renaissance. A new normal that will effectively change the way we interact with each other, and the planet, on a daily basis. Think global, act local; I think they said.

Recently I wrote that ROUTINE IS EXISTENTIAL. I know this to be true. Without structure to fall back on we are literally aimless in our pursuits. Routine is the structure by which we lay the foundations of our lives and that which helps us erect our castles, or small cottages as we wish. 

Question: Remember that guy in school who used to say, “Hold my beer.” or “Watch this.”?  What I tell you now is something that I truly wish for you to take to heart.  I want you to be the person who says to the world: Hold my beer and watch this.  I challenge you to redesign your normal routine into a new normal. I ask you to challenge your ability to slough off the chaff of your old routine and be a creator of our collective new normal.

Seriously, would you just look out the window for a minute and see how blue the sky is? Do we really need to commute to some building 5, 15, 50 miles away just to feed ourselves? I have a brand new job working for the local parks department. I can walk to work in under 30 minutes if I wish. After decades of having to drive a food truck for the movies, work in a restaurant as cook or manger, or cart my tools in a very fuel inefficient truck to a jobsite I have the job that I have always wanted.  But here is the thing that I just learned. I do not need to be in the office to do my job well. It is just as easy from me to manage all that I need to manage from my home office. Now I have already all but eliminated the exhaust fumes that I need to produce. At work, I now have eliminated the need for 100 square feet of space dedicated to housing a desk and chair just for me. My shoes will last longer, my dry cleaning bill will be lessened, and I am happier. What would happen if even just 10% of those who have to commute were to change their habits after the All Clear sounds?  Or 20%, or even 30%. What would happen to our way of life?

I will go on record as saying, “It will get better.”

After working for over 40+ years I finally have the job that I have always wanted. I am able to reduce my impact on the planet and can now give back to my community. My new normal after the All Clear? 

Double down, to see how much more I can do to help foster a new normal.

What will your new normal be?

Until tomorrow,

Tommy Judt

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