This upcoming weekend is one of my favorite events of the entire year: the beginning of Daylight Saving Time. In an instant we will jump into the world of 7:00 pm sunsets, making our daylight feel longer as we move toward the springtime. I know I’m not alone in enjoying our annual “spring forward,” but I also know that not everyone enjoys it as much as I do.
For as much as we all may love the extra sunlight, the actual time change itself creates a disruption to our normal routine. Studies show that the loss of an hour of sleep creates a rise in heart attacks and car accidents as well as a temporary drop in productivity. While the time change is an easy adjustment for me, for others it’s a much bigger deal. All of this has me thinking about how settled we’ve all become in our regular routine and the value in changing up that routine from time to time.
The Writings sometimes talk about “vain repetitions” when it comes to religious things. When we say the prayer, are we really thinking about what it means or are we just saying it out of habit? Do we do work to prepare to take the Holy Supper and do it intentionally, or do we just take it because it’s being offered? Do we go to church on Sunday because we are interested to learn from the Lord’s Word and apply it to our life, or has it just become a part of our weekly routine?
Routines can be helpful for us. Sometimes when we make a habit out of something good, it takes the “work” out of it, and we just do what we need to do automatically. And yet, routine can also take some of our will and intentionality out of our actions. It’s important that we change things up from time to time, and even angels in heaven experience changes in their routines. Check out this passage from Arcana Coelestia 37:
“Change in spiritual and celestial things takes place both on general and on particular scales and is comparable to changes that take place through the day and through the year. Changes through the day are from morning to midday, from then on to evening, and through the night to the morning. Changes in the year are similar, from spring to summer, from then on to autumn, and through winter to spring. These bring changes in temperature and amount of daylight, and so in the fertility of the earth. Compared to such changes are the changes that take place in spiritual and celestial things. Life without changes and variations would lead to sameness, and so no life at all.”
So, we are supposed to go through changes, like the changes throughout a day or like the seasons in a year. Often, though, those changes are subtle, gradual, and almost unnoticeable as things slowly shift. And so, at a time like Daylight Saving Time, it’s useful for us to see how much even a small change in our routine can affect us. Let’s take this opportunity to reflect on our routines and try to be more intentional about even our automatic habits this week.