One Year Later: Reflections from Isolation

It has been a year since the world shut down.

I had so much resistance to mask mandates and not being “allowed” to go anywhere. I kept denying that it would continue. Each time the school shut-down was extended, I would say, “They’ll go back. They can’t shut down for the rest of the year!” But they did.

I was planning in-person workshops and yoga things for the summer and a colleague from Canada pointed out that this may continue into the fall. I thought, “Its Pennsylvania. Its going to be over in few weeks.” And then it wasn’t.

I spent hours on the computer trying to muddle my way through the system that is Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, so that I could collect money for which I did not work, that I did not want, but that I needed to stay afloat.

My family is big and loud and we spend a lot of time together. But we avoided each other for weeks at a time on more than one occasion. Our babies have grown up in isolation, scared when there are more than a few people around. They don’t understand why we sometimes cover our faces.

I have had a hard year. I am fairly certain everyone has. Humans are tribal creatures by nature, no matter how much our current technology and society try to convince us otherwise. We thrive in community. My livelihood is based on the energetic transfer that can only happen in a common physical space. I can do some bodywork remotely by leading someone in self-massage and stretching techniques, but I guarantee you will not feel the same sense of energetic calm.

I take pride in the welcoming atmosphere that my energy creates. And yes, I can welcome you virtually. I am trained to do so. It will still be a healing situation. But there is still much more to be said for the person-to-person connection that can ONLY happen in a PERSON-TO- PERSON situation: no screen in between.

The resistance I have felt has everything to do with refusing to settle for less. My Soul knows that people are meant to be together. If anything, this year has made it crystal clear that part of my Purpose is to feed that human connection and emphasize community.

Please understand: I am grateful for the opportunities that have been presented in this virtual age. I was able to find a therapist that was not local because teletherapy has become a thing. I have taken live yoga classes from some mentors who live hours away. I have continued my education in ways that would not have been possible had we not been shut down.

I am grateful I was able to build my own little community with my kids and husband and the control I have had over Jackson's education. He has learned about natural health and other things they don't learn in school.

Jackson with our soap and candle projects for a combined art and science lesson.

This year has taught me that I CAN adapt if I choose to. It has taught me that technology is a wonderful thing in many instances. But above all: it has taught me that NOTHING takes the place of IN-PERSON love and community and I don’t want to even TRY to find something that could.

What have you learned in the complicated space of the last year?

What are you going to do with that lesson?