So, I went to church today, which is a BFD, because I’m not a church-y kind of person, but I’d discovered a church a few years back that I like to attend now and then—a genuinely Jesus-inspired, progressive, get down-n-dirty, practice-what-we-preach kinda church…yes, there was hand sanitizer everywhere and we all consciously employed “social distancing” (which is pretty easy to do with this congregation, because it’s small but mighty), and after today, there very likely won’t be any more in-person services, and of course the big topic of the service was current events, specifically and practically only about covid-19, and how can we stay connected when every minute the rules are changing and it’s a given that we all will have to to double-down on the self-isolation/quarantine sooner than later, for an undetermined amount of time…
I was astonished and honored, when the pastor of the church messaged me on facebook, asking if he could read a recent post I’d written, about the necessity of immersing ourselves in nature as much as we can in this strange time. I thought he was just going to read a few passages, but he read the whole damned thing (edited for cuss words, of course…).
One of the lectors also mentioned that it’s absolutely essential to stay connected to each other in this time isolation, and how to get creative with that, but also mentioned studies that show good ol’ fashioned talking on the phone and hearing another’s voice releases the good, healing, feel-good hormones, like endorphins and serotonin, compared to that instant-gratification communication mode of texting releases gobs of dopamine, which, if you’ve been following Annie’s work at all, is also the same chemical that’s inextricably linked to addiction…
SO, the point being: PICK UP THE DAMNED PHONE AND CALL YOUR LOVED ONES! Hear their voices and allow them to hear yours, too. Use technology for good! FaceTime or Skype might also be a good thing to figure out, if you haven’t already! Be safe, be well, take care of each other, take care of yourself! xo!!! 💜💜