Quote from Mark Matousek on June 2020, 11:33 am

The Covid-19 pandemic has complicated social connection in ways we've never encountered before. With physical connection severely limited, and fear run rampant across the globe, we are redrawing the maps of human relationships and what emotional intimacy means. Many of the worried are forming social pods that include a few choice family and friends while excluding the vast majority of folks in their lives -- for the indefinite future. This exclusivity (and the fear that drives it) has opened wounds in many relationships, exposing pre-existing fault lines and areas of distrust, antipathy, and ambivalence that we may not have acknowledged before.

 

This has created a crisis of connection as well as an opportunity to take stock of the bonds in our life in this revealing new light. Which relationships truly matter and which have mostly been space-holders -- or holdouts from past associations no longer relevant to our lives? With the shifting of values from this pandemic, which connections feel less than authentic, as if linked to a different reality with little reflection on who we're becoming? Now that we're slowing down, simplifying our calendars, and learning to be happy with less, what do we most want to share with others? Finally, how -- in the absence of physical connection -- can we bring a spiritual dimension to our relationships, recognizing that while there's no replacement for touch, there are many, many ways to love, and experience the unbreakable bonds of the heart.

 

Here are three writing prompts to help you explore the shifting landscape of your emotional life in relation to others. Feel free to approach these prompts in whatever way appeals to you, and if none of these questions resonate, don’t hesitate to formulate (and respond to) your own.

 

1. How does your spiritual practice, and wisdom orientation, impact your ability to be open with others (before and during this pandemic)? Be specific.

 

2. Are you using social distancing as an excuse to avoid other people -- or relational issues you don't want to deal with? How and when is this happening? Is this avoidance healthy or self-sabotaging?  

 

3. How has this crisis exacerbated pre-existing emotional patterns in your close relationships? What insights can you draw from these patterns, and what changes would you like to make moving forward in cultivating greater intimacy and emotional support? Be specific.