Lockdown 11/28 – Dawn?

Day 11 of my diary of a LOTR Fan Museum owner during our 4 week national lockdown - in NZ we’re uniting as a country to beat Covid-19 to break the chain and save lives, but …

Today dawned with a hopeful energy. The end of NZDST (Daylight Saving Time) means the clocks “fall back” an hour. For once I actually did have an extra hour’s sleep, which could be a benefit of slowing down in my commitment to the new job of STAY HOME, be kind.

So I jumped up “early” and went to the home gym (aka The One Room Fan Museum). Instead of fun with costumes, I did a rowing session plus various exercises and stretches. I also spend some time in meditation, which feels so good for the soul. This is actually thanks to our Welly-Moot LOTR picnic a few months ago, where I realised I need more practice sitting cross-legged.

Especially meaningful for people of Christian faith today is that it’s Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. So weird not to be going to church. JRR, you’d agree with me on this!

I know LOTR isn’t a Christian allegory (and it’s the better for that I reckon!), but I understand that JRR saw it as fundamentally religious. That said, I consider that its inspiration isn’t dogmatic. It’s human and can inspire people of any spirituality. Whew, … steps out of the pulpit.

Another reason to hope this morning was news that the curve in NZ may be starting to flatten - early days, and we can’t get ahead of ourselves, but we can hope. That said, there remained tragic news of the virus continuing to ravage, and of a what is expected to be a category 5 cyclone heading for Vanuatu. “Normal” tragedy doesn’t stop for the virus!

I hold to Sam’s words about the need for perseverance and hope, and I hope I can dial back eating Easter eggs (which has been an unfortunate side effect of the crisis for me!). I wish perseverance and hope for all of us going through this earth-shattering event. And, may you have comfort of the soul. Best wishes, Kathy x