We’re All In This Together

Good Monday Morning!

I trust your weekend was enjoyable and I hope that your team won!

Over the weekend, I had an interesting conversation with a young woman who seemed discouraged. When I asked her about her struggle, she said that she was tired of feeling alone during these challenging times when she thought that people should join together to help one another cope.

I asked her what she thought would be an antidote to her loneliness. Her response didn’t really surprise me, but I was acutely aware of the depth of thought for someone so young. Her answer to my question was this, “Why can’t people realize that we’re all in this together. It would be so much healthier to share the aloneness and try to find hope together. I just don’t understand why people can’t see how much easier it would be.”

Indeed! We’re at what I’m calling the third wave of the pandemic. People have begun to recluse and find reasons not to interact because it takes so much energy. Many have started to feel that there’s no end in sight for the hopelessness they feel. They’re tired, feeling anything but creative, undisciplined, and unable to find motivation in their work or pleasure in their leisure time. Activities that used to bring joy have now become drudgery. Mindsets are transcending toward a ‘why bother’ sort of attitude that tempts even the most positive people to stop trying to fight for their usual optimism.   R. M. Drake, contemporary poet and author of Instagram fame, penned the following words:

These words and sentiment warm my heart, as I believe they will for many of you. The idea of togetherness in a way that’s genuine and transparent lends a new vision for vulnerability. When we seek to see ourselves in others, we cease to see the differences and become open the commonalities. We look for pathways to empathy and acceptance, rather than exclusion. We create an atmosphere of solidarity that releases the ability to dream together and imagine solutions that will benefit the collective, thus making possible a way to encourage strength in each individual. What a beautiful way to live, feel, and survive!

Here are some references about being together in Scripture:

“Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” Psalm 85:10 (NKJV)

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Psalm 133:1 (NKJV)

“For when two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)

“The strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench them. Isaiah 1:31 (NKJV)

I get chills when I imagine the sweet kiss of righteousness and peace and strong visual imagery with the strength of a spark of tinder as unquenchable. But to think about dwelling in unity and gathering together brings such a feeling of serenity as I imagine the harmony and solidarity in being of one accord.

Others have commented on the strength of being together:

“We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.” Author Unknown

“We’re all just walking each other home.” Ram Dass

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” Vesta M. Kelly

Consider your needs and the needs of those who surround you as you open your mind to combat loneliness with togetherness this week. I hope you discover that it’s a beautiful way to live, feel, and survive. We are all in this together, after all!

And, next Sunday…

Be Well & Be Blessed!
Lucinda