Not that anybody asked, but I officially declare 2020 the year of “naw, it’s actually not all going to be okay.” Oh, and comforting Zoom crews that you never in a million years would have expected yourself to depend so deeply on. The first part is obvious. Even those of us that are usually cushioned from precarity by wealth, whiteness, or whatever have had our asses handed to us this year--all of our best laid plans incinerated and all of our usual coping mechanisms proven powerless. It’s been humbling. It’s been sobering. It’s been terrible.
While I am not a Zoom person and have just about lost touch with everyone I used to connect with, I am aware that the few who share their lives with me through text and telephone have helped me feel less isolated when the alone-ness is almost too much. I do wonder what it will be like to be in daily touch with people in Tai Chi classes and over lunch in restaurants, or dinners in each other's homes. Right now, that feels overwhelming. Like someone who has recently gained sight or hearing, it may be overwhelming. I look forward to figuring that out whenever that time arrives. Meanwhile, your writings bring me a welcome and remarkable connection I never expected. A stranger, half my age, sharing emotional experiences that make me wonder how you know so much about me?! Your words are some of the most healing in my world right now. Thank you.
While I am not a Zoom person and have just about lost touch with everyone I used to connect with, I am aware that the few who share their lives with me through text and telephone have helped me feel less isolated when the alone-ness is almost too much. I do wonder what it will be like to be in daily touch with people in Tai Chi classes and over lunch in restaurants, or dinners in each other's homes. Right now, that feels overwhelming. Like someone who has recently gained sight or hearing, it may be overwhelming. I look forward to figuring that out whenever that time arrives. Meanwhile, your writings bring me a welcome and remarkable connection I never expected. A stranger, half my age, sharing emotional experiences that make me wonder how you know so much about me?! Your words are some of the most healing in my world right now. Thank you.