54. Offering kindness to a stranger

Loneliness is a big hard-hitting mother trucker, and many of us are still feeling a level of disconnect from our loved-ones. Loneliness can also be felt when we are in the company of others, or even when we know we aren't 'alone' as such, but simply more removed from the physical contact we would ordinarily have. One way we can combat a sense of loneliness is to consider different ways we can connect but also, who we can connect with. The weirdness of life at the moment means we are more likely to come into closer proximity with strangers than we are with loved ones. Social interactions contain an undercurrent of wariness, we don't want to get too close, understandably. So how about accompanying that wariness with a smile, with warmth? Reassurance! Mark Nepo poet says...

'.we know each other below our strangeness, why when we fall we lift each other or when in pain we hold each other, why when sudden with joy we dance together' We are feeling collective pain for those who have lost lives to Covid, to those who have lost lives to police brutality, our sense of connection spans beyond the four walls we live in, beyond our loved ones, it connects continents, people, unites our world. We know each other. When we see someone fall we want to lift, support, show kinship, to convey from the heart that they are not alone. So how may that manifest for you in your world right now, how about the next time you are out and about offer them the warmth of your smile, if you want you can say to yourself 'may you know peace', 'may you be well'. Look at them with your eyes, make eye-contact. Show them you see them. Friendliness during this time feels even more important where wariness is in close proximity to all that we do. We may have physical distance, but we do not have to maintain heart distance, let yours speak to others. You have no idea of the impact you may just have on someone else's day.