Isolation

Floating in a sea of stars?

Fear of isolation continues to be a common theme of the interviews. Then I have been reading Life of Pi, which deals with isolation and categorization. Finally this morning I heard about Google's Milky Way Map, an interactive 'street view' of our galaxy, labeling and giving facts on over 100,000 stars. So...

I'm thinking about isolation lately.

That is a strange for me to write, though, because I don't actually feel isolated. I feel heard, loved, appreciated better than at any other point.  I'm feeling great, the opposite of isolated, and it's good!

I look at 100,000 Stars and I love them. I'm intrigued and impressed, I feel connected. Likewise, I read Pi and I see the ways in which the title character connects with the animals, the boat, the pens, his family, and God.

But I remember times that the thought of 100,000 stars would have made me feel so small and alone. I remember first reading Pi years ago and shrinking at the ocean.

I think ours is a time of great connectivity, with communities forming around all manner of causes and joys. But it is all in potential, and the first step toward engaging communities is the hardest. All the connectivity that the world provides us now means nothing to someone who has internalized their loneliness, their isolation, their feeling of unwelcome and un-belonging. That is the great fault committed by religious organizations - casting judgment and blocking entry to all but the most committed, supported faithful.

I think that is the true test of our communities. Can we connect to each other so earnestly that we are open to someone who only sees closed doors?