Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Begin.
Take a moment and bring into your awareness, one person that you can and do rely on. Someone you share feelings, hardships and celebrations with. Once you have that person in mind, take an intentional inhale deep into the body and hold their face, their energy, their heart in yours. Exhale to send a breath of gratitude their way. If multiple people come to mind, pause and repeat this practice for each of them.
Go slow.
Breathe deep.
Begin again.
If that exercise feels difficult, take a breath of grace for yourself. Ironically, you’re not alone Perhaps you’ve heard the news; the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory reporting that we, the American people, are in an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. We are suffering, gravely, from a lack of connection. According to the advisory, “Social connection – the structure, function, and quality of our relationships with others – is a critical and underappreciated contributor to individual and population health, community safety, resilience, and prosperity. However, far too many Americans lack social connection in one or more ways, compromising these benefits and leading to poor health and other negative outcomes,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported last year.
We see the symptoms of this everywhere – since the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – even more. From shifting behaviors and sense of belonging for children in school, to drops in productivity and passion in the workplace, to the growing divide within our political environment. This disease of disconnection is permeating every corner of American life.
Either for yourself or someone you know, let us expand into feeling the connective tissue that exists in our communities. Starting from your home and flowing through your place of work, what do relationships in those places feel like for you? Perhaps a greater exploration is needed. Ray Oldenburg, an American sociologist coined the term, “Third Space” to describe the places that are not the home (first place) or school or work (second place), where people exist for connection, for pleasure, for exploration. Third spaces include coffee shops, clubs, gyms, churches, places of learning by choice, and so many more. They provide an opportunity of belonging, exposure to diverse perspectives, a break from the stressors of home and work balance, and help us feel like we are part of a larger society – a smaller, more accessible world.
If we are all feeling alone – then we are united in that feeling. We are connected in a sensation that exists in our bodies that ultimately proves our connection above all else as humans. Energy is shared. It is felt from one to another and beyond. If I am filled to the brim with ecstatic joy, you will feel it. If I feel heartbreak, shame, anger, or fear, you will feel that too. So what if this epidemic of loneliness is spreading because we are sharing feelings of solitude at such a rate that we are manifesting loneliness as a normal state of existence. With thoughts occupying the mind like: “I have to muscle the weight of life on my own” or “If I disappeared tomorrow, no one would notice.”
What if when those words float through our awareness, we could speak them out loud to at least one person. Finding one point of connection may be the key to allowing the weight of those thoughts and feelings to dissolve in a shared ocean of “hey, I have those thoughts sometimes too – but they are not true” or “I would notice.” What if we took a moment to pause, breathe an inhale deep into our bodies and feel – then, with a full exhale, look around and find one thing we are grateful for. What vibration would that send to those near. Could we start exploring our sensations of loneliness with one another and alchemize that energy into love and gratitude?
What if taking hold of our loneliness becomes the gateway into community, to deeper relationships, to gratitude.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Connect.
One-minute wellness invitation: Reflection activity
Rapid check-in – Don’t think, just reflect (or journal!)
- How’s your heart right now?
- What is one thing you are grateful for?
- What are you proud of yourself for?
- What is one thing you want/ want to work toward/manifest?
- What is one thing you are grateful for?
- Who is one person you can connect with today?
- If you’re experiencing feelings of loneliness, please reach out to a mental health professional for support. You are loved and needed here.
Jasmine Linane-Booey of Kazuko Wellness is a Somatic Energy Guide. She holds two certificates in Reiki (Paris, France and Spokane, WA), over 10 years experience as a certified yoga and meditation guide (Goa, India), a certification as a Somatic Energy Practitioner (Spokane, WA), and is a trained Psilocybin guide and wellness coach. Contact: hello@kazukowellness.com | www.kazukowellness.com
Sources: “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community,” from the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG); and Washington (DC): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2023.