Wholeness Healing Center

Making the Connection Reveals the Strength of the Human Spirit

One year ago, in March of 2020, most of us became aware of the global pandemic. Offices, bars, theatres, dining in restaurants, malls and other businesses had to close or limit capacity. Some who may have never heard of the CDC began to follow their guidelines, or not. For varying reasons, how we treated one another came to the forefront of our consciousness. “Others”, such as people of color, the poor, and medical personnel suffering from their service to the sick and dying began to reveal their thoughts and feelings. Symptoms of depression, grief, anxiety, anger, increased substance use and a deep sense of being disconnected to our fellow man/womankind grew more pronounced. A by-product of this world phenomenon and its chaos became a division between human beings in all areas of life.

Although these facts have played out in the last year, something much different was developing in the midst of these events. We, as humans, began to grow our collective consciousness under the weight of human suffering. We witnessed that no matter how we as individuals were affected by this pandemic, we could acknowledge that others were hurting too. Despite political, religious, economic and racial/ethnic differences, we learned that the virus didn’t recognize any of those manmade perceptions. We also learned that suffering had “degrees” and that some individuals had to sacrifice more than others. We could acknowledge the unfairness of that fact.

In times of strife, a strong human characteristic is to reach out to others but we could not do that in traditional ways due to the fear of spreading the virus. We as individuals became creative! People all over the world hosted virtual and outdoor events to boost and lift up human spirits. Music, art, trying new recipes, baking from scratch, giving to food banks, collecting used clothing, joining book clubs, spending time in nature etc., all of these offered an opportunity to sustain and entertain us.

In the growth of our consciousness, we learned the potency of giving and receiving healthy human touch. We began to understand a need for balance between honoring our self and caring for others. We also witnessed a deeper development of empathy and compassion amongst one another and a willingness to listen and share amongst ourselves. Spirituality, however each individual defined it, became an avenue for us to both give and receive sustenance to each other. Our capacity of love for one another is the strongest of human connections and recognizing that connection seems to strengthen the human spirit. As we move forward into the second year of this pandemic, we find that we are in a much different place than last year at this same time. We have additional knowledge medically and scientifically and a treatment for this virus has been developed and will be offered to all. We acknowledge the deep sacrifices that have been made by the global community and we humbly remember those who have lost their lives. Today, however, we celebrate the strength of the human spirit, the kinder, gentler collective conscious that unites us all and the hope that this year will be a continued year of positive human growth.

Tags: balance for honoring our self and caring for others, COVID and Making Connections, giving in times of strife, In times of strife, reaching out to others