Habits

Have you ever thought about the role of habits or routine in your life? Some of us are more habitual than others, but I think everyone is to some extent. It could be as simple as how you comb your hair, use a phone, or feed the dog.

Habits can make life easier and more comfortable because they eliminate hundreds of minute decisions every day. On the other hand, habits can be detrimental. Author Samuel Beckett says “Habit is a great deadener.” I can see how at times this could be true because judgments and creativity aren’t often tapped when habit already has the plan laid out.

Habits or routine can also make us blind or deaf. If we are sure we know what is going to happen or what someone is going to say, we don’t expect anything other than what is already in our own head. As Jean Cocteau said, habits keep things covered and prevent us from seeing. In fact, they can lock us into routines that become semi-rules we expect for ourselves or others and prevent something new from ruffling our expectations.

These thoughts about habit are not exactly theological language, but God’s life-giving actions don’t follow the rules that we humans create for ourselves. In fact, God breaks rules a lot.  Have you ever noticed how many times the OT prophets did irrational things following God’s commands? One strange story has Jeremiah buying new underwear then burying it so it would rot. (Jer. 13:1-11) Then, in the New Testament, Jesus’ life was one unexpected action after another, beginning with a virgin as mother. Time after time he broke with the expectations of religious leaders and his own apostles. In the end he broke out of the box of a tomb. All of this was the surprising work of God.

These scripture stories tell us God’s ways are not ours, but we often unconsciously act as though the divine will and our will is the same. We forget or ignore the fact that the God of surprises is beyond our grasp. This situation should make us more attuned to not letting our habits get the upper hand in our daily lives. As St. Augustine said, “Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity.”

Where does this meandering leave my thinking? I need to continue to give time to reflection about God’s value system and the way Jesus exemplified them; I need to pay more attention to the people around me and how God loves them; when I pray, even for the end of horrible things, I need to remember that God has shown us many times if we pay attention, that good can emerge from evil. The crucifix is our perpetual reminder of this.--Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB