Lockdown Reflections - Mr Dewes
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ne of the very few benefits of living in lockdown has been an increase in time available for contemplative thought, reflection and, where necessary recalibration. There has been so much for which to be thankful. I am, if not clearer, then even more certain of what it is I value and prioritise, feelings engendered both by absence, in some cases, and increased time to invest in others. At the very top is my faith. For 25 minutes of my daily hour’s exercise I listen to The Bible in One Year and Nicky Gumbel’s words on three Bible passages. A few of these have been updated to include reference to coronavirus but most do not mention it. Despite that, the same messages repeat. God is in control. Trust him to fulfil his great purposes. Live for eternity, not just for today. It is not rocket science, but it provides perspective and hope in a world that has never been so shattered. Tuning in daily to a few sections of God’s word and listening to Nicky’s exposition has become the central focus of my day. I wish I were better at living out what the Bible says in practice. I can become anxious when things that should be within my control begin to get out of hand, never more the case than when preparing a meal every fourth day. Even with all the time in the world at my disposal, I am not very good at exercising patience. I can be anything but gentle in my snappy responses
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when anxiety or frustration take a hold. Second, again by a distance, is my family. Greater familiarity has not resulted in any greater contempt, in fact quite the opposite. I have never been more tuned in to the needs and current feelings of my own family or to those of my siblings and mother, or to those of my in-laws. How I value their support and love, even if it is not always put into words. How I hope I am able to give back to them a small measure of the enormity they continue to give to me. A resolution I have made is to be more alive to all my family, closer or wider, and to be a better listener. One of the things about remote contact is that it forces me to listen as only one person talks at a time. In real life it is all too easy to switch off mentally whilst giving an appearance of taking things in. Naturally there are still the same issues over which opinions differ but a benefit of group conversation is that these do not tend to surface. It is much harder to enjoy the cut and thrust of debate (i.e.argue) when there are several others in on the
conversation and not remotely interested in it. I had no idea, either, that not being able to see family would make me realise how much I miss them. Third is my health. Especially at the moment, I am just so grateful for the genetic mix that has blessed me with an absence of underlying conditions, apart from some dermatological stuff which sun and early nights resolve naturally. I have missed fewer days from illness in 40 years of teaching than I have on the fingers of one hand. I see colleagues and students coping with debilitating ailments that either prevent them from enjoying sport to the full or making academic progress more difficult and compare that with my own ability to do both. It is humbling but it also provides another reason to be thankful for the set of cards I have been dealt. Fourth, and a very important fourth is my circle of friends. Lockdown has deprived
