“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”
J.K. Rowling
It can be very challenging to feel connected to others in this new world in which we are currently living. It is difficult to foster relationships and maintain strong connections when so often the only thing connecting us is a digital screen, or simply the sound of another persons voice on the phone.
I personally have found that it takes a lot more work and intentional effort to unite with others. There are new and different behaviors that feel uncomfortable at first, but when we lean in and embrace them, a sense of normalcy comes roaring back.
For example, this past weekend one of my closest friends called and asked if we wanted to do a “car social.” Not having heard this term yet I asked him what that meant. His exact response was “We drive up, open our doors but don’t get out. We drink beer together. Then we say good bye.”
So that is what we did. They parked in the driveway and we stayed apart and didn’t violate any of the social distancing rules. But, for an hour or so, the human relationships that truly mean so much in this world were front and center and everything else just drifted out of focus.
One of my favorite verses is from Ecclesiastes and given the current nature of our world I don’t think couldn’t be more relevant. ‘Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ‘ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
We aren’t meant to be divided. Humans are meant to work and act as a tribe and, for the time being and perhaps forever, how we do that has had to change. If we want to remain united we need to find new and different ways to do so. We have to lean in and foster the relationships that truly make all the difference in the world. Whether that is via phone call, video chat, “car socials” or anything else that is socially responsible, we have to invest the time and energy into becoming more united, because that is what truly matters…
