CONNECTING :)

Mankind enjoys connecting with each other. How many of you look forward to seeing and connecting with your own families for celebrations, special gatherings, or just relaxing and having fun together??

How do you feel when a scheduled gathering is canceled or you can’t attend?

Recently many of us have experienced those feelings with our COVID-19 challenges of “stay at home” or “follow the social distancing” recommendations. Yes, the virus has caused immediate and very close difficulties for many of us. We can’t visit dear family members suddenly isolated in a hospital room for non-virus health issues. Or maybe you’ve lost a family member to a non-virus disease or another health issue, and you can’t even be with them or support your family members.

Being “disconnected” can be painful and emotionally impactive. Our feelings can run deep through separation and rejection. Many of us are feeling the results of separation and loss which we have no control over.

Today’s emotional challenges may be a real glimpse into the same emotional feelings and challenges LGBT+ families encounter often. As mentioned above, we human beings enjoy connecting with each other. We naturally experience many energizing responses inside ourselves—in our thoughts, emotions, and responses. We can feel happy and excited to be connected.

But if we are confused about a relationship—if we don’t fully understand a family member’s desires, beliefs, and behaviors—our connections can become bruised and even broken. Those uplifting feelings, those happy warm emotions turn cool—even cold. We can feel lost, and the misunderstood family member can feel rejected and helpless!

Both sides may wonder what to do, how to safely connect and grow rather than sever a desired family relationship and lose potential healing connections. Although each family is made up of individuals with unique genes and learnings, if we desire to learn and understand how each of us does feel and think, we can connect with other people and other families and be open to their experiences, growth, and acceptance.

Today Kinship LGBT+ members have created strong bridges of communication with each other around the world. And our Kinship Family & Friends members need to see the value in connecting with each other and helping ourselves understand many complicated and, possibly different, ideas and thoughts that can and will benefit ourselves and our families.

The positive art of connecting is flexible and variable; but together moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins can connect, share, and learn from each other. Working together, we can recover our intimate family connections and see our families bloom into healthy families.

Our Family & Friends ZOOM call on Sunday, June 14 is our start to meet new family members, our start to learn how to communicate and share safely, our start to help ourselves and our families grow into supportive, accepting, and loving people.

Look forward to CONNECTING on SUNDAY, JUNE 14. Save the date on your calendars! More details will follow for your safe connection and beneficial participation.