Share space, share hearts

When I take a step back and become mindful about what has been transpiring over the last month, it brings me a sort of sadness. Although I continue to grow over this time of solitude at home, I am also reflective about what I have lost. I have lost human connection and human touch. I don’t think that I realized how much we need human touch being that I’m not really a touchy-feely person, but without it, I feel sad and almost lonely. The reassuring smiles through zoom or FaceTime just don’t make up for that human interaction and compassion that you feel as you stand across from another friend or family member feeling the connection between the two of you as you share the same space. Perhaps the most frightening part is the feeling of separation that we have from our family as it exists outside of our home. Grandmothers, Mothers, fathers and grandfathers, sisters, brothers, and those friends that you never wanna be without, all of them quarantined separate from you. I know from talking to others that I am not alone in the feeling of rejection or upset that I feel when I’m not able to even see my mom . As parents and older individuals become more and more fearful of this rapidly spreading disease, the fear begins to take over and in a way it becomes every man for himself. There’s a sense of separation or fear, maybe, that occurs when your own mother asks you to remain distant. It’s almost like you were out in the world all by yourself even though you have been for sometime. It’s the fear of knowing that they are unable to physically be there. On top of all this, I think the most disturbing part is when you think of the big picture, you know that you can’t be close to people right now due to the quarantine, however the alternative is that for some the may not be able to say they enjoyed and ‘lived’ the last two weeks of their lives. So how do we find that happy medium between maintaining a safe distance in quarantine but also feeling the connection to others the connection that comes with physically occupying the same space and time? I have never been a rule breaker and I definitely understand the purpose of distance but what I can say is that when my mom came to drop off an Easter basket yesterday for my son we maintained a 6 foot distance but something about her being in that same place did help to soothe me. We were outside where the air was blowing and we could maintain appropriate distance yet occupy the same space. This did seem to help. So although I don’t encourage rule breaking, I do encourage connection, happiness and love especially at a time like this where everything can feel so unsure and downright awful. So today I encourage you to occupy the same space as someone who feeds your soul, whether that be somebody in your home or outside of your home. A simple driving your car to someone else’s backyard to wave hello from a distance maybe the perfect medicine to get us through the rest of this month. Occupy space while maintaining social distancing but see each other through your own eyes rather than that of a screen...soak in and be mindful of the connection and the feelings that course through your body. Open your heart to the love that fills the air as you share the space with that person. Live your life.