The pandemic has cost so much life and relationship. I think about this a lot as I think about the unseen and unheard among us. Before the pandemic, it was easy not to see or hear because life was so busy and fast paced. Now, things have slowed, but strange and strained elements have arisen, such as online schooling for young children or engaging virtually, not face-to-face. These things have become a reality in our lives.

But the question is still a good one to consider…

Who is unseen and unheard among us?

I think this time with the holidays while in the pandemic emphasizes the difficulty of staying connected or living in mutual ways. One of the ways I encounter this hardness is that I find myself fighting and stumbling as I try to be clear in communication. Recently, one thing took three texts and one phone call before it was clear.

Still who is unseen and unheard?

It is like traveling through the thick mud my brother and his friends would sling and slide around in with their trucks. We move slinging in this pandemic awkwardness and sliding into tasks, relationships, and communication a bit sideways. Anger and resentment can grow as things are not as they should be or maybe they are as they should be in this pandemic. How do we be ourselves?

Again, who is unseen and unheard?

Could it be we are all the unseen and unheard in different ways?

What are my feelings altogether communicating to me? How am I? If this post does not connect with you, feel free to move on. But if you feel the littlest flutter inside, give yourself the gift of time and attention. Then be vulnerable with folks who care about you and will not try to fix you. Vulnerability is especially important as it rebuilds bridges or opens doors that have been closed or barely cracked. Mutuality can begin to grow again. It takes courageous honesty for you to begin feel more settled and centered. It is a process, one that I will be engaging this holiday too!

Consider this blog post an invitation to courageously see and hear yourself and allow others to see and hear you.

Love you all heaps! Happy Thanksgiving!

—Dianne