Minerva Society
A prolonged separation from those you have come to rely on in life is always traumatic. It’s painful to simply bear witness whenever this occurs for others all the while praying it will never happen for you. But over this past year plus we have each been given a strong dose. We have all come to feel the burden of what is no longer there.
When babies are placed in their mother’s arms in those first moments after birth, their eyes are still crusted and closed to their new world. Instinctively, they draw near to the smell, the sound, the feel of just her breath; craving something, anything that might be familiar. Often, they’ll bring their lips close to the very tip of her nose. Oh, that’s better.
While being immersed in this sudden unfamiliarity of our daily life, nearly one in five of us have sought out counseling or therapy for the very first time. That has brought the national total to 47% of the adult population. At the root of it, an effort to connect with someone capable of identifying and accepting exactly who you are and where you’ve found yourself. Someone who is genuinely listening as you share. Perhaps in different circumstances, this would be your friend.
Coaches, film directors, and band leaders all know the value of the supporting player. The one who is not given the opportunity to take the most shots, or say the most lines but contributes something essential to the success of any meaningful endeavor. With the supporting player, you cannot always define or even remember what their contribution might be, you would miss it instantly if it were gone.
Let me guess that one the reasons you have come to know your indoor space so thoroughly over this past year is what lies just beyond it. Somewhere between the unpredictable world way out there and the turmoil deep within is that familiar place where you discover yourself – that second line in your physical address. It is populated by a select number of people who are more than nodding acquaintances but not really your intimates. Over the course of the next few weeks, you may encounter some of them and suddenly realize they have not come into your mind for more than a year. You’ll smile the moment you see them. You’ll listen when they speak. You are both in a very different place now, but somehow you still know it as home.
