07 July 2020 / Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , / By Julia / 119 comments

Lately I have learned a lot about my need for connection. In times of social distancing, quarantine and all of the changes the virus has made us make, it has become even more obvious that humans are not only beings but social beings.

The crisis has shown us how much we miss hugging and meeting and hanging out together. For many it is a vital challenge as they live alone and spend so much more time without looking another human in the eyes or speaking to someone or just being near to another living creature.

Thus, I found that I needed to find a new way of connection. And as I don´t think that connection will go back to the “old normal” I looked for a virtual way. First, during the crisis some of my colleagues from university and I started a group that meets virtually once a week in order to talk about different positive psychology topics that we agreed upon beforehand or whatever topic or experience from the past week we feel like discussing. This is an intimate group with less than ten people and as we go along we share quite personal issues as we get to know each other better.

The second group I joined a couple of months ago is an energy healing group. This is a small group as well and its members live all over the world. We meet weekly and for me it is a very profound experience to work in a group with strangers and feel so connected after only a couple of times we met. By now we all feel a close connection that goes far beyond the weekly meetings. Out of this group emerged even another one with a different focus.

A fourth group is one I only joined on a trial basis so far. My friend Sophia Kokores from OPM Collective – whom I met on Instagram by the way J – does a powerful job by offering circles to connect. You can participate in a free circle every Thursday. The idea is to build strong connections in small groups of 4-6 people who meet on a regular basis and go through a set structure each time. I loved the experience and would join right away hadn’t I already been in different groups.

I feel blessed and very grateful as these groups open my horizon intellectually, spiritually and they give me a sense of true connection. They have helped me get through some tough times during Corona and they nourish me with understanding, laughter, support, lots of learning and new friendships.

I have come to the conclusion that I miss real life connection a lot and that it is vital for me to have it. But as I cannot connect with people as I did before Corona I chose to look for an alternative. I found it in the groups I described above and it enriches my life a lot. It also gives us the possibility to connect with people we wouldn’t have met in our physical environment, as I would never be able to meet my university friends weekly as we are spread all over the globe.

Now it´s your turn – maybe you would like to check out Sophia’s circles. You can find her online. Or look for a book club, a mother’s group or the alumni association of your university online. Or connect with me and we can see, if we can set up a group together.

Connection is a human need – we just have to do it virtually now. Connect with others, it helps you and the ones you connect with and – BE YOUR BEST SELF!