We’re made for connection. Just take a look at any study on attachment theory or the effects of neglect and trauma. Our need for connection runs so deep, is so innate.
But this is an odd season, living quite a distance from family and friends and I frequently find myself in a funk, one filled with a constant, lingering FOMO that spirals into jealousy and bitterness.
I’ve tried different things to combat these diseases ailing my heart but one weapon I’m learning to wield is gratitude.
My present life may no be filled with the coffee dates and dinner parties I so desire.
But today, I discovered a neighborhood park.
Today was one of those unicorn days here in Korea with blue skies and clean air.
Strolling along a meandering path lined with wild flowers and rice paddies in the distance.
I enjoyed a walk accompanied by Michelle Obama’s voice in my ears as I listened to her read aloud her book, “Becoming”.
I’m grateful:
early morning me-time
facials
Zumba classes and the ladies I’ve met through it
daily yoga practice
the current podcast I’m listening to that’s rocking my world (“Emotional Healing” by Mike Plunket at Risen King Church)
I’ve grown a deep appreciation and fondness for rice paddies. Living in the country with our house surrounded by them, we’ve been observing the rice paddies through the seasons. The labor of love they are. And lately, the rice paddies are a lush blanket of green.
Every time we arrive home, it’s become somewhat of a thing to look for the lone crane perched somewhere near the paddies, as if to be greeting us home. Maybe it’s its stark contrast of white amidst the pool of green that I find calming. Maybe it’s that I can relate to it in its aloneness. Maybe I desire to be like it, so at peace in its solitude.
One evening, the three of us sat and watched the crane when it suddenly took flight. It gracefully began soaring over the fields. And I felt like it was whispering to me, “This too shall pass.” This season in limbo, this season of waiting, holding, containing will lead to a season of flight.
