A universal need.
That’s what my social work classes call it. The human need to be heard, seen, and known. It was a central feature of my first grad school class. It’s something that has been in my thoughts a lot over the past 7 weeks. I’ve talked about it with my Mom, my friends, and taught a lesson about it at church.
And here is what I’ve found.
It’s true.
We need to know that someone, somewhere knows the real us. That we are seen for who we are. That our wants, needs, and desires are heard by someone.
One of the hardest parts of living through the pandemic has been a disconnect from the ways we usually get those needs met. Friends and family have had to social distance. Events and celebrations were canceled. I met with the sisters in my church and we discovered that all of us had been feeling very alone. We felt like no one understood us. Many had felt that maybe church wasn’t the place for them anymore, they were isolated and felt like they didn’t belong.
I watched as everyone drew a huge sigh of relief to discover that they weren’t alone. They hadn’t been the only one person thinking these crazy thoughts. They weren’t the only one struggling to find a way to meet these needs. Our hearts ached as we listened to our sisters tell their stories that we didn’t know were hiding beneath their pasted on smiles.
So we made a plan.
It’s just in its beginning stages. But we realized that somehow, some way, it was vital that each of us felt heard, seen, and known. We made plans and commitments, both individually and as a group, to do even just one percent better at reaching out to each other and checking in. Because if we all did one percent better, that one percent multiplies like compound interest.
It is a couple weeks later and I have reached out to a few women who were on my mind. Nothing earth shattering has happened, but they now know that someone, somewhere was thinking about them, and if that helps them feel even a little less alone, I have succeeded.
