What About Love?

One of our greatest human needs is love.

Abraham Maslow put that into perspective for us nearly 80 years ago when he published his theory on the hierarchy of needs. After some food, water, and shelter, before we can achieve self-esteem and realize who we are and what we are meant to be… we need love. His theory has undergone some criticism over the years, but it’s hard to argue that we don’t need love as relatively foundational to achieving our life purpose.

Over the past several months, I have been feeling increasingly unsettled, frustrated, confused…even stuck. COVID-19, civil unrest, politics; social media, masks, work from home; travel bans, canceled plans, economic hardship…everywhere we look there is anxiety, anger, fear, hate. It’s completely exhausting.

Last week was especially hard for me. I didn’t have any scheduled shifts in the hospital, so I was working from home. Which means I got a little more sleep, made time for daily exercise, and spent more time with my family. It also gave me more thinking space. And in that space, I just felt sad. It happens that way a lot…when you are going a million miles an hour, you don’t have time to think. Then when you slow down for a minute, and think, and feel, it all hits at once.

In my thinking space (a lot of which is while I’m running), I just kept seeing and feeling so much angst and defensiveness. So many of us, myself included, wanting to defend our position, assert our own truth, and protect our perceived freedoms. Ironically, the more we dig in, defend, assert, and try to protect ourselves, the worse we feel.