The Pandemic, a Wire Monkey, and a Procession of Angels

Overcoming Isolation By Reminding Each Other Who We Are

The incalculable toll of the pandemic is its impact on our mental health.

We do not have to agree whether every decision in response to the virus was correct or not. But we can all agree that countless adults and children alike have emotionally suffered as a consequence. We have worked and schooled virtually for two years. We have stayed in our homes away from our neighbors and social functions. We have quarantined in isolation and have been conditioned to fear being around others. And through all of this, we have been removed from something essential to our well-being - community.

In our isolation, we missed the hug of a friend, the pat on the back from the teacher, visiting our elderly neighbors, and social get-togethers after work. 

In our isolation, we missed a kind glance of affirmation, a fist bump when accomplishing a task, and an encouraging word when we needed it the most. 

In our isolation, we missed sharing our pains and struggles, crying in the arms of our friends, and being carried by our loved ones when we were at our lowest.

In the 1960s, social psychologist Harry Harlow discovered how isolation produced adverse behaviors in infant monkeys. Taking them from their mothers and isolating them in cages, he observed that they began to stare blankly, circle their cages aimlessly, and engage in self-harm. In a subsequent study, he introduced the choice of a wire "mother" with food or a terry cloth "mother" with no food. The infant monkeys chose the touch of another over sustenance.

We are much the same. When isolated, lost, or alone, we desperately desire the touch (or the words) of our loved ones, our people, our community, our tribe. Not just to comfort us, but to remind us of who we are and that we matter. 

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said in the 3rd Century, “A procession of angels pass before each person, and the heralds go before them, saying, ‘Make way for the image of God!'"

I love the imagery he paints of those who stand before each person declaring their divinity and reminding them that they are sacred and wholly loved. 

In this time of social isolation, how much more do we need to stand before our loved ones and remind them who they are?

Question

1. Who do you know that needs to hear your words of life and affirmation this week? Make a list. Tell each person why they are sacred and wholly loved.

Peace,

Brandon