Dearest Readers,
How are you doing? I hope you’re going gently and experiencing some softness in these hard times.
You might be surprised to see another letter from me so soon. I’ve been averaging about two a year but I met an old friend in July who encouraged me to post more often. “Once a month!” he cheered as we said good-bye. (He’s a professional coach.)
So here I am again, a month later.
Lately, I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of “1984” by George Orwell (read by the brilliant actor Peter Capaldi) and finding its themes chillingly similar to what’s happening in our world today.
In 1948, Orwell imagined a future where the falsification of reality and acceptance of official lies were the cultural norm. Nearly eighty years later, here we are.
And yet …
“The Party had not been able to kill their human feelings. The Party had not been able to kill their humanity.”
These lines from the book strike deep. Somehow, in this age of fake news and corrupt leadership, we must continue to affirm our humanity through the simple act of feeling.
Feeling is difficult. Numbing out is much easier. We only have to stare at a screen. Or reach into our pockets for the phone. To identify a feeling I must reach into my Self.
I have a list of feelings at hand because I find it so challenging to name exactly what it is I’m feeling.
These days …
I feel horrified.
I feel angry.
I feel despair.
I feel powerless.
Naming the feeling seems to loosen the grip of anxiety. By saying, “I feel overwhelmed,” the stuck energy can move. “I feel numb,” can thaw the freeze state.
I recently witnessed a friend grieving openly in a support group. She kept apologizing for her tears, embarrassed that she was being such a “hot mess” in public.
But all of us in the group were then moved to share our own experience of grief. Her authenticity and vulnerablility strengthened and inspired us. We were uplifted.
When we share what’s really going on (in a safe space), we affirm our humanity.
And when we affirm our humanity, we participate in something greater than politics and war. We resist the forces of dehumanization.
Our feelings remind us: we are alive.
With you on the journey,
Celia
