Not One of Us Is Alone
Did
you rise this morning, / broken and hung over / with weariness and
pain
and
rage tattered from waving too long in a brutal wind? / Get up, child.
Pull
your bones upright / gather your skin and muscle into a patch of sun.
Draw
breath deep into your lungs; / you will need it / for another day
calls to you.
I
know you ache. / I know you wish the work were done / and you
with
everyone you have ever loved / were on a distant shore / safe, and
unafraid.
But
remember this, / tired as you are: / you are not alone.
Here
/ and here / and here also
there
are others weeping / and rising / and gathering their courage.
You
belong to them / and they to you / and together,
we
will break through / and bend the arc of justice
all
the way down / into our lives.
—“Prayer for the Morning” by Audette Fulbright Fulson
Last
week, I read an article by mental health counselor Dr. Dominique
Hammonds that talked about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For those
of you unfamiliar with it, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid
representation of human needs. The pyramid’s foundation is made up
of our most fundamental, physiological needs—things like food,
water, shelter. And the need for self-actualization is at the
top—including productivity, transcendence, deep personal
fulfillment. In order to reach the higher needs on the pyramid, the
underlying needs must be met first.
The
article was written to remind us that during this time of pandemic
and upheaval, we, as a human community, have been thrust back into
the physiological and safety realms of the hierarchy. And this may
not be where we are used to hanging out. But like so many people in
the world, we have probably noticed that we have been consumed with
ensuring that we have the basics of what we need in order to sustain
our physiological needs. And this, my friends, is why it has been
hard for so many of us to focus; why it feels like it takes twice as
long to get anything done, why you may be more irritable,
overwhelmed, and exhausted; why you only have the mental energy to
focus what is immediate; why you’ve been instinctively prioritizing
self-care and family; why you may be grasping to control what you
perceive to be controllable (because so much is uncontrollable and
unpredictable right now); why planning for the future is the furthest
thing from your mind; why you’re craving connection.
All
of these reactions are normal. These feelings and behaviors do not
indicate you are a slacker, lazy, or anything like that. Right now,
we are experiencing trauma on a global scale. And it is more than
okay not to be productive. It is more than okay to “just be” and
feel what is happening all around us (and to us). And more than
anything (as hard as it may be), we should not compare ourselves and
our trauma responses to others. We should not buy into the narrative
that we must emerge from this situation a “better person.” And
it is okay to seek help. COVID-19 is a crisis that threatens both
our physical and psychological wellness.
And
I would add that this pandemic also has spiritual ramifications and
raises spiritual questions. How
are we caring for our neighbors and ourselves? Where are we seeking
and finding spiritual grounding? In what ways does our faith call us
to be gentle? In what ways does our faith call us to be bold? Where
are you recognizing the risen Christ in the world around you?
As
Audette Fulson claims in the poem above, I deeply believe that not
one of us is alone. We each belong to one another. But
not only that, I believe that our faith calls us to belong to all
those who struggle for health and wellness, financial security, food
security, housing, safety, a sense of love and belonging,
opportunity, and meaningful connection. We are in this together.
Our separation is temporary. We will emerge, and when we do, we will
work together to find new and inspiring ways to bend that arc of
justice all the way down into our lives.
See
you in (zoom) church,
Christy
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