Back to School

Back to school—ugh. I can feel the sense of frenzy seeping into my psyche as I race to meet deadlines and get programs in place before the students arrive. It’s also a time when I feel from within an invitation to lean into some of the practices that help to keep me steady when my schedule gets more intense.

Several months ago, in the midst of a particularly intense time in our Focolare community house, during a moment of prayer I felt moved to try something new. I called it my “EB” practice—meaning, “Everybody’s Busy.” It consisted of pausing to discern an opportunity to do some concrete act of service that would (by definition) take ten minutes or less to help meet a practical need in the house. It often consisted of something like unloading the dishwasher, tidying up the air-drying pots, or emptying the coffee grounds from the espresso pot—something that anyone with a bit of time could do, but since we were all crunched for time at the moment, it could also be me.

Doing this also with the intention of increasing my own self-awareness, to counter my tendency to become absorbed into my own projects—or my own stress—I realized that these very small gestures are helping me to start the day feeling much more connected to my community. Being a high-energy morning person, in my house I am usually the first one awake, and often the first one to leave for work. As I lock the door behind me, I often feel how these tiny gestures are the best way to say “good morning, have a good day,” to everyone as I am leaving for the day. And perhaps most meaningful, this practice also helped me to pay attention to and appreciate more the ways in which others are doing something similar — or even more time consuming!—at other times of the day, like the food shopping (which I rarely do), or vacuuming the floor.

I also noticed opportunities for my EB practice at work. In our Law School Campus Ministry suite where we offer coffee and tea, we encourage the students to bring their own mug, as a gesture of care for the environment. For those who forget, we have some mugs on hand. For those who are too busy to wash their own mug, we have a tray to collect the dirty ones. When I take a break in order to wash the mugs, it is often a meaningful moment to pray for whoever used that mug, and to recollect and treasure the contact or conversation with that person.

Those familiar with the Focolare spirituality might immediately connect the “EB” practice with how even the youngest children who live the spirituality are encouraged to do concrete “acts of love.” Right now, some may even be humming the catchy tunes that describe sending “gifts of love” for Jesus, and encourage the kids (and all of us) to “fill the world with love.” For me, the hope is to remain in that childlike simplicity while at the same time leaving plenty of room for adult intentionality.

Recently, feeling overwhelmed by the images of suffering in Gaza, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo, I felt a shift within which brought me to rename this practice as “TEM”—an invitation to go the “Tiny Extra Mile.” I realized that there is very little I can do to be of direct and concrete help to my brothers and sisters in these places that are distant to me. But I can pray and live for a world of peace, often by catching the “tiny” occasions to love the people around me—which often includes making an extra effort to pay attention and be aware of their needs and concerns.   

Back to school: a whole world of opportunity opens up to pay deeper attention to all of the ways to manifest the love that connects us.