Together

We live in feeling. Not just saying and doing. We feel. We feel in our solitude, in our quiet time and we feel in our togetherness.

Think of the power of feeling when we’re together. The buzz of opening night, the roar of the crowd when the announcer says “Scoooore!”, the shared peace in group meditation, the warmth and joy at dinner for eight, the surprise visit from a friend. To be in the presence of others is to feel our connection…to feel the pulse of living…together.

Experiencing connection is a big deal. I think we depend, more than we might care to admit, on feeling love, tenderness, excitement, possibility and joy emanating from others…in person. And maybe we don’t realize how much others depend on us for the same things. It is in our basic nature to desire connection, to be in community and relationship, to feel the vibrancy of belonging.

The English poet John Donne famously wrote: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;…”. And so we are…part of the main. Not separate, but one big pulse of life and living. And we are meant to be together.

Right now, during our social distancing and stay-at-home orders, we might feel disconnected. For many it is not easy to be apart. Yes, we are being creative with our current technology to be with each other…just not in person.

I hope we learn from our self-imposed exile…our sacrifice for the whole. I hope we decide to appreciate and value more deeply the nature of connection and to know that it is essential to our own well being. We will feel so very grateful when once again we will live in the simple freedom of being together.

Much love always
Paula