Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Begin.
In this three-part series, I invite us to explore the construct of Home and collectively redefine not only what it is, but how we take action to create the homes we need. In this second part of our exploration of Home, I invite us to look at what it means to be at home with each other. To question how we build spaces of mutual belonging and vulnerably wonder what stands in the way.
Summer is a season of dreaming, blossoming, harvesting, and abundance. May we acknowledge our wants and needs, affirm their possibility, and manifest them into being. Each piece in this series will offer invitations for reflection and reclamation. The ongoing attacks on love and connection may be out of our control, but the ways in which we find home within and around us are not. May we rebel through connection and love.
Part Two: At Home with Each Other
In a post-COVID world (and I’d argue, pre-COVID as well), we, the collective, are suffering from deep isolation and loneliness while simultaneously talking about the need for community. If we are all lonely and all craving community, why then does creating true sustainable communities feel like an elusive mirage? Maybe you’ve wondered, as I have: Is it always this way, or is it just right now? Is it me? Or is it the world that’s been constructed around us that makes it so hard to be together?
Somewhere along the line, we forgot that community is more than a friend circle, an occasional weekend brunch, or a shared group chat. Community isn’t just who we laugh with on good days but who we can also cry in front of, who we can disappoint and still be held, and who knows when we’re not okay even before we say it.
I recently heard someone say that if we can’t express when we’re struggling with money, health, grief, or just feeling undone, then we’re not really in community. If we hide our emptiness, our community can’t help fill it. So instead of admitting we can’t afford to bring the sausages to the BBQ, we make an excuse, we stay home, we lie to cover the raw truth.
What was once a tender truth shared to support each other, “I’m tired, I’m broke, I’m sad, I’m in need,” too often shrivels into gossip currency. Whether through curated social media or quiet whispers within family and circles, we keep score instead of leaning in with compassion.
And so, we drift.
Further and further apart.
Until it feels unsafe or weird to ask our neighbor for a cup of sugar, or until we no longer care to know the name of the cashier who rings us up each grocery store visit.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Small, tender acts of reaching out can soften the distance.
Maybe the first step is noticing what we long for and daring to name it. Because what we name, we can nurture. What we admit we need, we invite others to help us grow.
May we find the courage to share our emptiness, so it might be filled not with judgment, but with care. May we rebuild our homes within each other, one honest moment at a time.
Jasmine Linane-Booey of Kazuko Wellness is a Somatic Energy Guide with certifications in Reiki, yoga and meditation, and somatic energy work. She is also a trained psilocybin guide and wellness coach. Contact: hello@kazukowellness.com | www.kazukowellness.com