Pay Attention! Don't Miss the Good Stuff!
Weekends were made for movie-watching. And pandemic weekends under “stay-at-home” orders? All the more!
Last weekend we chose The Lion King (not to be confused with ”Tiger King.” We haven’t gone there…yet.) It was the only choice on Disney Plus that none of us had seen but were all willing to watch. Although it was touted as a live-action movie, within seconds it was obvious these animals were not alive.
Turns out, the producers used “photorealistic computer-generated animation.” Real or not, The Lion King mesmerized me from the first notes of that unforgettable song: “Nants ingonyama bagithi baba!”
I put my phone in my pocket and simply revelled in the artistic beauty of the animation and the synchronicity of movement with music. With vivid colors and animals that seemed to jump off the screen, this motion picture filled me with delight.
At one point, I glanced around the room at my husband and two young-adult daughters. All three were looking at their phones. One playing word games. Another tap-tap-tapping a color-by-number app. The third, checking her texts. These so-called “mindless” activities often make us feel like we can do two (or more) things at once. But are we fooling ourselves?
With my eyes and ears feasting on the vibrant colors and uplifting music, I said to my family: “You know, when you’re staring at your phones, you guys are missing some good stuff.”
Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t preaching or proclaiming to be holier-than-thou. Heaven knows, I’m often guilty of the same offense. I’m checking Facebook while watching a show. Staring at my laptop while half-listening to my daughter. Watching the news while a deer forages through the woods in my backyard behind me.
I wonder what good stuff I'm missing when I’m not paying attention.
During this unprecedented pandemic, we would all do well to pay attention to the good stuff. To put our devices and media and entertainments away and listen. To place productivity on pause and pray. To lay our anxieties and fears aside and practice mindfulness instead.
There is good stuff happening right now.
If we stop and look, we can see the hand of God. If we pause to listen, we can hear His voice. If we just pay attention, He’s there.
He works through the caring hands and hearts of our health-care workers.
He shines through the creativity that’s popping up everywhere in art, music, and worship services.
He loves us through the family members we had been separated from that are now close to us.
He shows us that when we stop over-extending our lives–our bodies, our minds, our time, our relationships, and our planet–all become healthier.
We experiment in the kitchen cooking tasty meals again and find extravagance in takeout.
We capture joy while taking a walk and gaze at tulips making intricate shadows on the sidewalk.
We spend time virtually with loved ones and friends on a screen and value more than ever our embodied time with one another.
We witness clean air in cities once filled with smog and delight to find wild animals dancing in the streets.
Yes, good stuff is happening all over the globe.
But if we don’t stop and think about it, if we don’t look up, it’s all going to pass us by. At some point in the future, we’ll be back to “business as usual” and COVID-19 will be nothing but a memory. Like the tunes from that Disney movie, it will play in our heads for a while, but eventually, the memories will fade away.
I’ve asked myself, “Why does it take a devastating pandemic, illness, death, and economic disaster for us to find the hand and voice of God?”
Could it be that we, the human race (or at least the humans I’m most familiar with) had to be shaken from our complacency and selfie-centered lives? Only an extreme shake-up could cause us to look up from our distractions and pay attention.
Now is the time to open our eyes. To perk up our ears. And to see the good stuff that’s been there all along.
He’s there. He’s moving. He’s speaking. He’s watching.
When I consider the lily, clothed with its delicate petals, on my kitchen table, His goodness is as clear as living technicolor.
When I observe the loving deeds of kindness the world over, His goodness is as real as live-action.
When I l hear the music of voices blending in worship songs, His goodness stirs me like a great soundtrack.