As so many other people have expressed lately, I’ve been feeling inundated by the many complex layers of global and cultural unrest bombarding me at every turn. It is increasingly difficult to find respite to connect and recharge, as most conversations about virtually any topic find their way back to the pandemic, the financial crisis, politics, and social justice issues — all very important and relevant topics but highly polarizing and often divisive. It has been draining my battery at times, for sure. Fortunately, I have a high self-care IQ, which helps me navigate the seemingly endless waves of these current choppy seas.
I do trust in the bigger picture of what we’re ultimately creating together as a planetary community. With any major transformation, there’s necessity for many shifts that will propel us forward collectively to something greater…AND… I’ve been asking myself what can I do? What is my part? So far, these wonderings have mostly remained in the working-question stage and my reflections on them have yet to yield edible fruit. I always aspire to be a good human — someone who cares about others and demonstrates that aspiration through my intentions, words, and actions. I’ve been noticing a growing desire to deepen my participation and contribution toward something more.
One of the things that appears to have gotten buried under the weight of the heavy issues and the flinging-spitballs-back-and-forth climate we’re experiencing is intentionally sharing and expressing our love and appreciation of one another. Partly, that expression has been naturally pruned back by the inability for socializing in person. The rest is likely just a function of prioritizing that which is most pressing…adjusting, adapting, surviving…whatever that may look like for you and your family. As the saying goes, we can’t stop to smell the flowers when we’re running from a bear.
While walking in nature the other day (sans any presence of bears), I had an inspiring idea that felt like a wonderful way to reconnect with my loving heart. I’ve since decided to take it on as a daily practice. Perhaps you’d like to join with me or create your own version. For the next consecutive 60 days, once a day, I’ll be reaching out to someone to share one of the following: an appreciation I have for them, my love for them, or how they’ve made a difference in my life. I’ll mix it up a bit by using different forms of communication: email, text, video or audio message, a phone call, Zoom, a note or a card sent through snail-mail, or, maybe, an in-person connection, as conditions permit.
My hope for this practice is that it will lift our spirits and lighten the load — not to cover up or silence the real challenges of the times — but to breathe some fresh air into them and to invite us to share a moment of spaciousness and connection together, ultimately to cultivate greater unity within our human family. We truly do need each other.
Patricia Belleno, MS, LPC-S 