Healthy Connections

Belonging

“Our relationships have the potential to be a sacred refuge, a place of healing and awakening. With each person we meet, we can learn to look behind the mask and see the one who longs to love and be loved.”

Tara Brach

          Yesterday, in the Piggly Wiggly grocery store, I saw only one person who was not wearing a mask—there was a sign on the door asking folks to wear a face covering. Everyone else was abiding by the request. I wondered about the outlier; what was it that caused her to feel that the request didn’t apply to her. The mask issue is just one more flag of division in the US. It’s so silly to me. Think about it. There are places where people can be shot dead by their governments for simply speaking up. They risk their very lives for the freedom to say what is on their hearts and minds. And here, some of us feel imposed upon if asked to wear a mask to protect others from a deadly virus. Our “rights” are our major concern—not the right of someone else to live. Seriously?

          Or is it a deeper problem. Is it that we are so desperate for connection and belonging that we are willing to risk our own health and other’s health to belong to an ideological tribe? I have heard numerous people state that they don’t “believe in the virus,” as though it is a green fairy or something. This is not a matter of belief; so, is it a matter of sticking to the party line so we can belong to the group—even if it kills us? Do we bond around our “beliefs” no matter how nutty they are? Is it because we think we are betraying our tribe if we wear a mask? Does that sound bizarre to you, or is it just me?

          What it does speak of is our need for connection, for belonging. And that makes perfect sense. This period of isolation has been hard on us; we are not solitary beings. We need and want human community—but we need community that supports our well-being, not our risky behavior. We are navigating new territory right now—none of us has lived through a true pandemic, especially one that shuts the whole world down. It’s scary. Needing to belong to one another is a biological, psychological, and spiritual reality. But getting through this alive is the goal. If that means we wear a simple mask and wash our hands a lot, isn’t it worth it?

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane