Not Alone

Have you recovered?

I have not. And I hope I don’t.

This period of social distance and veritable shut down has provided an opportunity to reflect on how and why we connect as people, one to another. Thankfully our human communication skills include basic literacy which is easier to send and receive than ever before. With technology at our fingertips, we can reach a friend, a colleague, or family member and share news or words to encourage.

What I am finding is ample reminders about things taken for granted. As good as those connecting possibilities can be, they are not a substitute for person to person meetings, hand shakes, or hugs. Taking a walk in the neighborhood I see people who must be sharing that reflection. More than ever before we wave, we say hello from several feet away, check on our community, and just enjoy the proximity of another person. One day I left a loaf of home baked bread at a neighbor’s door and she returned the favor with a bag of fresh spinach leaves from her garden.

Connection is a beautiful thing. No matter where you reside on the political spectrum you can’t help seeing that our very connectedness is what allows us to part ways for a time for someone’s betterment… because we ARE connected with others at our core, because we DO care what happens to our neighbor.

In these caring professions it is a challenge to ask ourselves to modify our outreach. Do we feel it more palpably than others? Than the teachers, the preachers, servers, stylists or clerks? No, because it is our gift of gab that makes us human. We exist as a group because we satisfy that drive.

Can you see my smile behind the mask? What is there to do but grin and bear it.

so care for neighbor with a prayer
sing a song and bless the air~
‘tis not so much we can not bear.
observe the quiet for it’s rare.
and finding outside beauty fair
feel happy you’ve the time to spare.

until the light, we inward gaze
and see the soul is still ablaze
with hope for man and better days
amidst this heavily pressing haze.
we shall emerge with better ways
of sharing in the heaven’s rays.

(Excerpt, Not Alone, work of author)

Be well, friends.