WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MAY 13-19, 2020 UCW 15
OPINION
The thrill of gathering with old
friends and making new ones
around the spectacle of a live con-
cert with a favorite musical artist
is hard to beat. Whether the music
is locally, nationally or interna-
tionally popular, there's some-
thing about those events that level
the ground for us socially. The
music doesn't care if you pulled
up in a new sports car or spent
your last dime on a ticket. It's just
there to please.
By the time you read this, we've
missed more than a dozen oppor-
tunities to hang out together
at local venues for an evening,
afternoon or weekend of some
ground-leveling. But, soon that
will all end. And when it does, we
need to remember how much we
longed for time together during
the isolation chamber known
as COVID-19.
I can hardly wait to walk the
concourse in search of party food
and artist memorabilia or stroll
the aisles of artisan vendor booths
at a local festival while greet-
ing unmasked acquaintances. I
genuinely miss freely gathering
with people, and it only took a few
weeks of semi-forced isolation to
send me into a social tailspin.
The truth is, we're made for
relationship — built that way from
the origin of humans. Way back
near the front of the Bible, God
says, "...it's not good for man to
be alone." And, it's not. We can
see that more clearly now than
perhaps ever before — unless you
were a space station astronaut
or something, in which case you
already knew.
So my question for you today is
this: What will you take away from
this COVID-19 thing? Will you be
more thoughtful in accepting and
following through when invited
to local gatherings? Will you cel-
ebrate extended family birthdays
and reunions with new vigor? Will
you still choose church online on
a busy Sunday, or will you carve
out the time be with people you
love being with?
It's easy to stay in the same lazy
habits of avoidance when gather-
ing freely is possible, but I hope
after a period of standing six feet
apart in line at the grocery store
and returning home because
there's nowhere else to go will
help us return to the truth that we
are built for relationship.
See you soon!
by DAN DEBULER
Humans are built to be in community.
presents
Fayetteville's "Best" Band
3 years in a row
Book your upcoming events!
Rivermist Band
910-797-7140
www.rivermistband.com
www.facebook.com/rivermistband
Search "Rivermist Band"
on Instagram and
"Ain't No Party Like A
#rivermistparty"
DAN DEBRULER, General
Manager, WCLN. Comments?
Editor@upandcomingweekly.
com. 910-484-6200.