THE NEED TO CONNECT

Physically distanced, I am now better appreciating my need to connect. This recent unsatisfied need is changing my life—for the better. (Hats off to Maslow for the ah-ha that it is the unsatisfied need, not the satisfied one, that motivates behavior.)

This mean-hearted virus is denying us our previously undervalued lunches, coffees, travel, and gatherings. In response, we are creating efficient and sustainable workarounds with the help of technology, e.g., virtual cocktails with friends. Mandated separations are driving the demand and democratization of high-fidelity connectivity. This crisis will not have been wasted.

LIBERATION FROM LOCATION

I am now even questioning my previous bias that relationships can only be maintained—not created—digitally. I think I am now actually making friendships over the internet. And they aren’t limited to those who live close to me. How liberating. I find myself enjoying the comfort, ease, and the more frequent hobnobbing with Medvale and my other communities. Better yet, they do not know how I look from the chest down.

The benefits of virtual connections could not have been realized during normal times when our needs to connect were satisfied.
We have discovered that we can indeed be together while we are having to be alone.