As we slowly emerge from the pandemic with vaccines becoming available for most adults throughout the country, I am thinking more about re-connecting where I have been disconnected this last year.  So much of our lives are interdependent on others and occasions around us.  I think of some of the words by Thich Nhat Hanh on inter-connection: 

You are me and I am you. 
Isn’t it obvious that we inter-are? 
You cultivate the flower in yourself 
so that I will be beautiful. 
I transform the garbage in myself 
so that you do not have to suffer. 
I support you-you support me. 
I am here to bring you peace 
you are here to bring me joy.  
 

We have always been interconnected with each other, so being apart during the pandemic has not felt natural to many of us, as it has been a rough collective 15 months, as we have slugged through the pandemic together, yet apart.  The disconnections we have experienced have ranged from being disconnected from loved ones (friends and family), disconnection to places we like to visit, disconnection from school (grade school through college), and even disconnection to many outdoor spaces over the last year.   

We have been disconnected from traditional celebrations—birthdays, weddings, and other ritualized events that are important in our lives.  We have been disconnected in mourning, including in-person memorials.  We have been disconnected from being in spiritual community with the exception of Zoom/webcasts. Many of us work from home and are disconnected from co-workers.  Some lost jobs and are trying to connect where there are new opportunities for employment.   And another year of graduations that are happening virtually.  Reconnection is sometimes not as easy as it sounds, especially trying to figure when it is safe to re-engage, particularly with children, as they wait to be vaccinated. 

We have had to unintentionally create a new “normal” from last year.  Let’s hope we don’t have a new normal of being disconnected.  Whether we like it or not, isolation has crept in a bit more into our lives, sometimes with a new sense of what it feels like to be safe and what is not—for some, isolation is now feeling safer. As communal society is now shifting from digital communities (remote) to post-digital, we have the ability to gather back in-person with each other. 

Some have tried to get creative—happy hour with friends on Zoom, walking in parks more than before (as it is a safer way to socially distance), or adopting animals for companions during the pandemic. 

As vaccines become more available, we can think about how and when to reconnect—whether with friends, family, pets, co-workers, or our Earth.  The Earth is a place that nourishes us beginning at birth.  This last year, I find myself sitting on my front porch more than ever before, saying “hi” to all those who walk by alone or with their pets, sometimes engaging in impromptu conversations.  Now that it is spring, people are also connecting with earth by gardening, hiking, or camping.  Some have told me that they are taking up new hobbies such as bird watching. 

With my first spring in Portland, I see with amazement the flowers that bloom:  Daffodils, cherry blossoms, tulips, irises, redbuds, rhododendrons, rosemary, lavender, and of course—roses, the iconic flower found in almost every garden in Portland. 

If you are able to get outside and be more active after getting a vaccine, here are three links as brainstorming ideas on reconnecting. For learning about birds, I enjoy looking at the Audubon website, where there are recordings of almost every bird sound: Guide to North American Birds | Audubon.  Here is a website to learn about all the parks in the City of Portland: Parks & Recreation | Portland.gov.   And for those who are animal lovers and enjoy volunteering (and once Covid restrictions let up), a good way to connect with others is volunteering, such as with the Humane Society: Events Calendar | Oregon Humane Society .  There are endless non-profits to connect with on a variety of issues. 

The connection with others is just as important for us as it is others. 

There is a collective trauma that we have all gone through together.  As humans we are designed to be in community.  We need to think about how to re-engage with each other and our Earth that is nourishing for our souls and in ways in which are considerate of others, as we continue to observe safety protocols. 

Portland’s flowers, parks, and rivers can be our inspiration in the short term if still waiting for a vaccine.  And a surprise call to a good friend or relative that you haven’t spoken with lately is a way to stay connected, maybe with the goal of staying connected more regularly. 

Our spiritual theme for this month is “emergence.”  Let’s contemplate together what we wish to emerge in our lives out of the pandemic.  I wish you all, in our days ahead, peace and love.  May the beauty in life that we have access to inspire us in the days ahead as we continue to engage in the world. And in the more difficult days, as well as the better days, may these additional words of Thich Nhat Hanh be comforting: “To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.”