Thinking about What’s New

It’s been some time since I posted anything new here. While I’d like to say that I’ve been off on some adventure, or engrossed in a cool new project, the fact of the matter is that I’ve just been dealing with life. In that life – and on the surface – nothing much has changed. But a deeper dive reflection tells me that although I am still in the same job, in the same relationships, in the same decade of my life, there has been a whole lot of change beneath the superficial surface.

As I’m prompted to write this, I can’t help but think about how many times someone’s asked me over the past year, “What’s new?” Without really thinking much about the response, my standard line has been, “Not much.” Granted, the question has more often than not come from someone making casual conversation. Kind of like a stranger asking, “How are you?” as they pass in you in the supermarket, the person wasn’t really all that interested in a genuine response. Still, I’m thinking about it as a question worthy of personal consideration, even if the verbal response is simple.

Many things have changed for many people over the past year. With the breakout of COVID-19, people have lost jobs and homes and people they love. Certainly, our way of life has changed. What’s new is that we no longer see the faces of strangers, we can’t carelessly wander around a store, we can’t visit loved ones in the hospital, or plan special event gatherings as we once did. There’s a lot that’s new. And that newness, that new way of navigating the world can be stressful and scary. It’s worth considering when someone asks, “What’s new?” The fact that we, as a society, are learning to adapt and cope is worth recognizing. It’s part of our evolution … part of our “what’s new.”

There are tons of other examples like this. What other things are shaping who you are and making you new in some way? These things may not be glaringly obvious at first, but I challenge personal reflection here. You see, the question, “What’s new?” has an implied enthusiasm about it … like the things you’d include in a response have to somehow be exciting. Even dictionary.com implies an optimism in the word “new” by citing the phrase: “Ring out the old, ring in the new” as an example of new as a noun. But what if I liked the old? What if the struggle to find some exciting new thing is just stressful? Is there a contentment to be found in the ordinary? I think maybe there is. And I think that we put entirely too much pressure on ourselves to be interesting and exciting to other people.

Perhaps there is a balance to be found. When I reflect on what’s new lately, it is easy for me to go to a place that’s not so optimistic: work is crazy and stressful, my mom is not well, my friends are absent or busy. But there are also blessings in what’s not new: I still have a job I love, I have the opportunity to be a good daughter, and I’m learning valuable lessons about friendship.  I’ve shared this message before. It’s all about framing. It’s about gratitude. And, it’s about taking the time to reflect and understand yourself; what you can control and what you can’t. If you’re feeling run down and disconnected, maybe some reflection about the newness that’s tiring you out will help. And maybe – just maybe – if you can find the blessings in the things that have remained constant and unchanged, what will be new is your perspective.