Remember 2019? Who were you hanging with?

Do you still talk to them? Have you spent time with them in the last year? Have you felt comfortable spending time with anyone this last year?

My relationships have changed drastically in the last few years. Maybe it’s just me, but it kinda feels like I am starting from scratch in many ways, My circle seems to have shrunk considerably. Why is this?

Did I grow distant, or did they? Were they believers in masks or not? Am I an anti-vaxxer, or am I boosted up? Do they believe that Black Lives Matter, or do they believe “all lives matter”? Did I protest on the street or on Facebook? Did they? Are they pro-life or pro-choice? Am I? Do they say “gay” or not? What did I say? Do they see what I post? Did I see what they posted?

I am respectful of all the views represented above, and I realize I am not representing all the conflicts of the last few years.

While in “quarantine”, did we feel or hear or see one another? Feel each others’ warmth in an embrace? Hear each others’ tone in our whispers or shouts on Facebook? See the look of understanding in another’s eyes when we chose to be vulnerable? Did we hear them say, “I get it” or “I cannot imagine, but I’m here for you”? We lost much of that.

And maybe that loss makes us scared.

Are we scared that those old friends are no longer who we thought they were or scared that they are not “our people” any longer. Maybe we’re scared that they have become liberals, or scared that they have become conservatives? Perhaps we’re scared that they don’t even believe in God anymore? Are we scared that we cannot be comfortable with them any more?

Can we bring ourselves to engage again? All those that unsettle us, because of what they shared on social media…..Will we ever be together in a room again? I hope so. Can we talk like we used to talk? Maybe not.

But might we be respectfully curious? Are we able to kindly ask questions? Will we try to understand why? Can we let people be human? Is it possible to let them have their reasons? Will vulnerability find its place again?

I do not know, but I will continue to be…

Respectfully curious with you,

Joy