Socially distancing and isolation in proximity

Socially distancing and isolation in proximity

Socially distancing and isolation in proximity

These words bubbled up as I was walking alone at a park with literally 100 or so people social distancing too. We all are trying to understand these times that have shaken us out of our rhythms and places of “normalcy”. Many of us feel it as a time to enter into something different but unsure of the bigger picture. For others it is a time where we gather deeper into our families and rediscover close connections. For some, fear keeps pushing up into the surface, as “what if and what then?” questions rise. And probably for most, it is all of the above and more.  And as the initial waves of the newness of being apart wears off and stretches longer than we hope, feelings of isolation and loneliness may also start to stir. Those who claim a faith in a power higher may be finding some comfort overall but also “battling “the unknown and the lack of community. Community is a word we throw around with a Christian ease in the church and in the world at large we talk of building strong community. Covid-19 has surely stopped those thoughts and practices in their tracks...But does it have to?  

Can we re-imagine what community is? Hasn't humanity been practicing a form of isolation in proximity for a long time.  Pseudo sense of being together but not knowing ourselves or each other. I feel in my own struggles and processing, a call, an invitation, to enter into a deeper connection with my relationship with Jesus as well as with family. Here is the rub, being in close quarters with loved ones can feel tricky, in that sometimes, and I would dare say most often, with those closest to us the “real “us peaks out. Our impatience, selfishness, self-reliance etc oozes out. This social distancing has de-cluttered our schedules but also rips at the fabric of our camouflage. It does not feel good.

Can we begin to move closer in, first to ourselves and then learn how better to connect with others.  What does it look like to offer yourself a sense of acceptance and kindness? To no longer isolate your emotions and stories but to more fully connect to our whole selves, warts and all. The hiding of ourselves began in a garden, I believe we each have a certain time we have been allocated and believe that this strange season we find our world in is truly an opportunity. An opportunity to stop isolating the real us and to then begin to move in a new way, that though physically distant, we learn to move more intimately with those around us. Let’s rename social distancing to intimate proximity. Can we learn to be truly more real and connected with those closest to us and when we are no longer bound by physically distancing ourselves learn how to be socially intimate in proximity?