We are buoys for each other
My on loop phrase is "Connection is at the heart of our humanity". I thought I'd speak to though a character in a play I've been penning for some time now, "Silent Whispers".
A character speaking to connection and humanity skips the TL:DR yapping. It's the voice of a human that imbues greater understanding because we hear in real time. We connect.
The following is a short excerpt from the play. The Character John is a 67 year old Crisis Responder. A widower for ten years at an emotional cross roads in his grief journey. His shared grief narrative is no longer a true projection of his being. It is the hoarfrost covering truths he needs to survive.
The Excerpt
John: In my heart of hearts, I want to show when we connect with another, we become more human. It’s about our shared experiences riding the struggle bus. Stuck in a moment we don’t want to be in. We step on the bus, pay our emotional fare, and take a seat, waiting, hoping to exit the bus. During that ride, we share, learn, and grow.
In 2024, there were over 6 million calls or texts made by those on the struggle bus.
John takes a long pause, letting that number sink in.
Those 6 million riders sound like this:
Each of these lines is projected one at a time.
I need help. My mother slammed my head into the wall.
I can’t stop cutting. I don’t know what to do. Help me.
My dad raped me when I was 14. I can’t go on. I want to die.
John: Those are the extreme moments. The bleakest. Not the majority.
I have no friends. I’m depressed.
My boyfriend is being mean to me.
I’m being evicted. I’m scared.
I can’t breathe. My panic attack is not stopping. I want to come out to my parents. Can you help me?
You’ve seen this bleakness on screens. On socials. You’ve witnessed this never-ending trauma with those around you. Drains us. Ruins us.
For a moment, consider all of these struggles are sitting right next to you right now, unseen, unheard.
We can become numb to others and ourselves. Numb is not fate. I’d like to believe what you heard here are not the screams of others but how the soft voices of connection can repair and heal. To reignite our humanity. A two-way journey. Help be helped. Listen be heard. Support be supported.
John opens his arms wide.
When we connect to others, we hear soft footsteps in the periphery of our minds and hearts. Those footsteps are our better angels, bringing awareness into focus. Ours and those we’re connecting with. Those footsteps can be memories that inspire, embrace, love us.
Or they are moments of peace where knowledge opens. In those moments of silence during connection, we feel alive. We feel present for them and us. Not alone. We are not alone. For me, it is the magical realism of connection that changes my consciousness.
You now have permission to go forth and connect.
