Coming Back

In the three years that I have been away from this blog, I experienced much of the same stress and distress that most people in the world lived through. The lockdowns and restrictions curbed social interaction, dampened enthusiasm, reduced motivation, and limited adventure. Sure, we made an effort to spend more time outside and were largely successful. We hiked and snowshoed, biked, and walked. We saw wildlife and wildflowers. I had my fill of Google Meets, MS Meeting, and Zoom and was exhausted by the polarity of opinion and the rigor of isolation.

And then, things reopened and like someone who has been doing a dry February for 2 years or a fast for two months, I overindulged and overdid the return to what I thought I missed. We partied like it was 2019 – good food, good drinks, and good times. But I wasn’t filled. There was a void that didn’t get filled.

I realized that I was starved for dialogue and discussion and debate. I wanted dissent around topics other than personal liberty or personal choice. I craved philosophy and practice in an unequal measure. I needed to be challenged for something meaningful, not how I chose to be vaccinated or why I made that choice but rather a meaningful examination of the culture and community and why in the midst of polarity everything sounds like an echo.

I have spent a lot of my time testing ideas and trying new things, in my daily work. I have learned that wicked personal circumstances require direct, personal intervention. I realize that in order to restore people, young and older, from trauma, stress, mental health, and addiction we need a combination of medical treatment and narrative mediation. When folks are ready to be restored they need assistance in restorying. Attachments need to be regained or replaced, accountability needs to be mandatory and self-regulated, forgiveness needs to be bidirectional, and hard work must be celebrated and rewarded.

Over the next months, I am going to restore an old habit of writing daily and publishing often. I would love if this was a dialogue but if you aren’t ready to write a comment or question a premise then I hope that something here fills your ears and your head, and your heart.

B