Day 5 of 40 Days of Story: What’s Your Status Quo?
Today we take a couple of minutes to name our reality.
In story, we first see our protagonist in what is called stasis, his/her status quo. It’s the reality that the protagonist lives in before the quest begins.
The reality has its good and bad qualities. The main thing is that the protagonist can survive in it without being changed…without experiencing great disruption.
So, here’s your question–and I know it can feel like a BIG one but I believe you can do this—what’s the reality you’re living in that doesn’t require you to change?
Can you name the good and the bad in your world that defines your status quo?
I encourage you to do this with curiosity, courage and candor.
I can’t resist telling you about one of my favorite status quo realities. Several years ago I moved to Colorado. Fort Collins swiftly became one of my favorite places on the planet—almost immediately my body, mind and spirit swiftly sank into a sense of home. I relished my community. I loved my work. And I got to hike several times a week…pure bliss! The beauty and grandeur of the mountains recalibrated my soul, which I had been desperate for. I had moved to Colorado after spending a year-and-a-half producing a series on sex-trafficking, so this place became my soft-landing and healing ground. I thought I would live there for decades.
In the midst of that gorgeous status quo there were also other realities. I loved my job, but there wasn’t room for growth. And I so enjoyed the other parts of my life I didn’t feel compelled to put much energy and time into dating…though I longed for relationship. So it was a really beautiful status quo…but it didn’t require me to stretch or grow or be that uncomfortable in it.
So, what’s your status quo?
Remember: there is great power in naming reality. And if you dare, I’d love to hear about it.
Help! I’ve misplaced my status quo! Perhaps status quo is not tangible for a woman in the throes of menopause where shape, form and essence change moment by moment – not day by day or week by week. My short list of status quo activity includes grocery shopping, laundry, reading, and watching movies. But alas, all these endeavors require me to stretch, change or grow.
Even buying groceries stretches me to consider my many choices and those who have none. Nope, can’t do it… wander mindlessly between isles of food without being challenged. So, I began to wonder about my earliest experience of status quo. Climbing trees! Not a good idea at my age but just stepping outside beneath black velvet sky pierced with light and hearing the cacophony of thawing frogs and crickets, evokes a sense of shalom.
Still, I cannot linger there long without coming to my knees and being stretched, challenged and changed by Beauty. So how can I survive without being changed… without experiencing great disruption? It may seem too simple and shallow (and very, very sad) but the answer for me, for now, is Ambien and an uneventful day.
After daylight wanes and late evening greets me, the wheels in my head finally begin to slow if there is no new life drama to spin them out of control. With the soft caress of my pillow beneath my head and the weight of warm blankets covering me, I whisper to the Lord, “I’m so very grateful for an ordinary day.”
Sherri, I just love you! Thanks for this glorious glimpse into your world. So earthy and poetic. I love that you continued to be wooed by Beauty. Thanks for sharing, Tam
There is comfort and security in the status quo.
For me status quo was pastoring and living in the parsonage. Even though we got no salary from our little church, we always had a roof over our head and lights and heat. We were happy there. We were comfortable.
Pastoring also meant I always knew and could control the church environment… though control is merely an illusion in most cases. : ) I knew what was going to happen, I mostly knew who I would be doing it with.
There was comfort, there was security.
Thanks again, Anita, for such thoughtful and candid responses. Yes, comfort is so enticing…and the illusion of control is…well so comforting. And while there are amazing graces in comfort…especially in certain times…I love that you have let yourself be thrust into a journey of discomfort…growth…and contribution. Can’t wait to hear more! Tam
My status quo is the daily rhythm of family coming in and out of doors, the family who little by little no longer needs me in the ways they once did, but who still requires the connection. It’s a beautiful thing. There is a sense of accomplishment, a time of rest, at least temporarily. Today, I get to sit back and watch the various ages and stages from our version of afar. There’s a little more time to sit and ponder or get complete thoughts written down. Yay! But I know my current status quo is temporary. I cannot sit and rest forever, can I? No, this is simply a pause.
Sure, the yesterdays are gone, and the todays are finally here, but the tomorrows, they wait, so I face the question with great excitement, “What does my soul still long for?”
My status quo is moving towards the idea that it’s time to explore the heart spaces opening with each passing day, the second coming of age. There are long-awaited and new-found freedoms emerging and there’s joy in all of it.