I’ve been thinking a lot about what social media do for human connection. I try to stay aware of a low phone use and the ways in which I feel screens pull me away from life as it happens, but with that co-exists an acute awareness of how useful + positive their impact can also be.
Most of us relied on social media for connection during the lockdown. I found new ways to interact and to share, working online, holding my group sessions and gatherings. I’ve spent a lot of the quarantine time using these platforms to be with you, finding new ways to connect not despite the circumstances but because of them. It felt important to stay in touch, to keep an eye on each other, to have space to process together the sudden madness of the world.
When the recent societal upheavals began to happen, so many took to social media to share their stories, express emotions, show support, to voice opinions. Suddenly, there is a space for everyone to share their voice. This is new in the history of humanity - that anyone could put out for the world what it is that they think or feel, through the medium of this tiny screen.
And then, there are the wonderful people I continue to meet in person having first met over here. Back in March, the beautiful artist Alexia Pedal began to participate in my weekly lockdown meditation sangha. Over the months of it running she was always there, each Friday showing up with a little cacao on the side. Yesterday we got the chance to actually meet in person, here in Miraflores, and it was yet another magical moment of meeting someone I felt I already knew because of our online relationship. Now I have a new friend in my community, and have met yet another inspiring powerful woman with whom the spark was instant + effortless.
I want to remember this. Human connection - this magical ability to make each other feel seen, heard and valued - feels like the most vital aspect of our collective existence. And deep in my heart I know and I trust that we can move through the wild challenges of the current times together, as species. Holding space for each other, honoring our differences, meeting in compassion, prioritizing communication.
