Preventing Fragmentation and Isolation in a Coronavirus World

Why I Wrote 7 Pieces on Fragmentation

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been writing about our fragmented, compartmentalized lives. It began with the revelation that the supposed-saint, Jean Vanier, was actually a vile serial abuser. I considered the ways each of us—supposed-saints and regular folks—tends to live fragmented lives, how we split our personalities when it best suits us. I mused about the causes of fragmentation, how the social structures that required integrity—marriage, career, church—seem less sticky these days.  Then, I turned to some very real practices that might help pull our fragments back together.

This 7-piece run sneaked up on me. I didn’t set out to create a serial installment on fragmentation, particularly in an age where government-suggested social distancing in response to a global pandemic might lead to further isolation and fragmentation. And as I draw this series to a close, it occurs to me that in this new era, we’re likely to find ourselves further removed from the structures that might help us live integrated, whole lives (our extended families, workplaces, community watering holes, and places of worship). If we’re not careful, all that isolation and fragmentation might pull us into various shades of despair (which is to say nothing of potential Vanierian indiscretions).

How do we Prevent Isolation and Fragmentation in a World of Social Distancing?

How should I know? This is my first pandemic rodeo, too. That said, consider these common-sense solutions to potential feelings of isolation, disintegration, and fragmentation in a COVID-19 world:

  1. Set aside a particular time of the day for meditation and/or prayer;

  2. After meditation, read sacred texts;

  3. Study what it means to live a virtuous life, even when pandemic fears loom;

  4. Journal at the end of every day, examining the areas where fragmentation (i.e., acting contrary to your core values) or feelings of isolation are setting in;

  5. Put down the cellphone and have intimate and honest conversations with your spouse, partner, children, and pooch (even dogs need a little conversation);

  6. Call your close friends and commit to sharing areas of fragmentation and feelings of isolation in your own life.

A Tool for Defragmenting

THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love—is available now! So, order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookish (my favorite indie bookseller). Then, forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.