Walt’s, Mari’s, and my theory of human connection

I have been putting off typing this blog post, knowing that reading about or even thinking too hard about Human Connection During a Pandemic makes me cry a little.

In the 11:00 class, we talked about section four of “I Sing the Body Electric” as Walt’s theory of human connection. At first, it felt like a surrender, a kind of giving into reality and embracing all that he has. I feel that is a similar way now, but it is more than a surrender, but also an overwhelming peace that washes over the soul when in connection with other people. Any and all lines of this section mess me up, but take these two for instance: “To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough, / To pass among them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then?” Once again, Walt emphasizes the physical connection with other people. He almost romanticizes the mundane and platonic; it is an act of intimacy to connect with a stranger, something impossible now.

Now, if you STILL aren’t as broken as I am, I want to introduce you to my favorite quarantine-content-heartache-buddy, Mari Andrew. In April and May she published a series “Things I Miss.” One of the most devastating is this one: https://forge.medium.com/i-miss-serendipity-a36309b59d23 “I Miss Seredipity.” In class, I couldn’t exactly point to which of my authors has a nearly identical take on human connection; but, I think it might be Mari. She argues that one of the things missing most during this time (or especially in the April and May times) is serendipity: “accidentally stumbling upon something good.” And no longer are we allowed any fulfilling serendipitous moments with one another, especially with strangers.

If we read this section of “IStBE” as making the distant intimate, then Mari’s article attests to Walt’s claim, pointing to the fact that the most human instinct of connecting with other people is taken from us. Mari writes, “What is New York without its energy? It’s just a bare city, the bones of potential. Now, I miss my home city even though I’m quite literally stuck here. What I miss is the human landscape — the interactions of people with structures, trains, animals, fire escape balconies, and each other.” (Not to mention that she also lives in Manhattan and takes up the idea of ‘energy’.)

“The human landscape” and “To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,” mean exactly the same thing to me: human connection is an investment in other people that is not distant, but is constant and up-close, until it is taken away from us.

As coronaversary comes closer, these memories become clearer! Definitely weepy!