Rule #2 For Staying Home - Do Something: Top tips for a fulfilling confinement

Accusing the anointers in the great plague of Milan in 1630, Wellcome Images - wellcome.ac.uk

Journalist and historian, Tim Stanley, has an interesting piece in the Telegraph today, in which he looks back to the 'Italian Plague' of 1629-31, which killed 62% of the population of Milan. Florence, meanwhile, lost only 1 in 10, because there they introduced a complete shutdown, confining the population to their homes.

As we find ourselves living amidst historic events, it is salutary to remember that they are nevertheless, not unprecedented. Any day now, however, it seems that there is going to be a 'lockdown' of British society, which legally enforces confinement to homes for all but necessary workers. We will await the Prime Minister's press conference, today, or perhaps tomorrow, to discover the terms. It is hard to avoid the growing thought, that this might last, on any measure, for quite a long time.

As we absorb the shock of this, it will be important to remember that we are absorbing the shock of it. Like someone going to prison or who has a debilitating accident, when our lifes changes and our freedom or ability to do what we did before disappears, we will need to to absorb the change - time to mourn a loss. But, we also need to keep in mind that we can and will get through this. In a little while, this will be the 'new normal'.

Monks farming stony ground at Mission Santa Barbara, ca.1901-1904, George Wharton James

Part of the process of adapting - psychologically, emotionally, spiritually - will entail working out what am I going to do now? A few days ago in Rule #1 we reflected on the importance of having a spiritual rule of life, now more than ever. Today, I want to introduce the next thing which is crucial: having something meaningful to do. If in three, six or twelve months time, the only thing we have really accomplished is to have crashed through 50 Netflix boxsets, we will emerge from it a diminished persons; and that would be a great pity.

If we were to go to a monastic house of Contemplation, where monks and nuns give themselves over to a life of prayer, we might be surprised to find how busy the brothers and sisters are. Prayer, solitude and contemplation are about anything other than being lazy. On a natural, psychological level, human beings generally need to have some meaningful work, some raison d'être, in order to grow and flourish. This matters for our spiritual lives, too, because the supernatural life is build on the foundation of our natural life - grace builds on nature. If the psychological foundation is flimsy, so will be the spiritual life; which is why, as Christians we always need to take care of our mental, as well as our physical health.

Discerning a new raison d'être

Whilst establishing a rule of life during this time of social distancing will be of cardinal spiritual importance, what we do in the times in between will also be very important. That will be very different, for different people. Some - key workers - will still be going out to their employment, and for these the workload may well be increasing. Others will be able to work from home - although they may have considerable extra time on their hands. Still others, however, will have a real gap in their lives, from the withdrawal of all their normal pursuits.

If you have been left with a lot of free time, then I really would urge you to consider taking on some sort of project, to give this stretch of your life shape, meaning and structure. What follows are some top tips.

1. Take on something life-giving, and to which you are drawn. By this, I don't mean something which requires nothing of you; but, I do mean something which excites you, a little bit, to think of accomplishing. Is there something - that you could do from your own home - that you have always wanted to do?
2. Find a project that you can do by yourself. Those of you living with others are going to have a lot of time together; perhaps even a very much more than you would choose, or, indeed, than is good for your relationship. Having a project that you can do by yourself and that will give you, and others, some space (at least psychologically) may be a life-saver over the next few months.
3. If in doubt, learn something. Education, study and learning are ends in themselves. Every good thing you put into your mind stimulates mental and psychological growth. If you have no obvious works to be getting on with, then choose something that interests you to study. Even if you are not a reader, there are huge amounts of things you can study today online without a great deal of reading being required. Have a good look on Google at things which interest you, and then think, about how you could learn more.
4. Do something creative: how marvellous would it be to look back on this difficult year, and be able to say, at least I used the time to make/learn/accomplish X? As human beings we share in the image of God the Creator, and in all of us, to a greater or lesser extent, exists a creative yearning. Now is a great time to give it expression.
5. Don't overdo it. The goal here is to achieve spiritual balance - not to find an obsession. Start with your rule of life, and see how many genuinely spare hours you are going to have in your days.

A final thought... be careful of television and computer games. These have their place in a balanced life to give ourselves a psychological rest after a good morning's or afternoon's work. However, in an unstructured working/living environment they can easily begin to absorb more than their fair share of our time; and if they do so, they can ruin the opportunity of this time before us.

It would be great to hear from you, of any ideas you may have to use the come well. You can leave a comment, or email me at peterlittleton@rcaos.org.uk. Also, Archbishop John Wilson is encouraging people to share pictures of their shrines/prayer corners from home. If you'd like to email yours to me, I'll see if I can find a way to share them on the blog.