by Oana Filip*

This series seeks to understand some of the differing faces of estrangement and the crossroads it approaches for good or ill.

Dear Seeker…I write this as one would write a letter to an acquaintance or friend. I am also a seeker. And like others must ask – will that which I search for remain constant? Is the reflection I see in a mirror an accurate reflection or perchance a window to who I am and the roles I play in life?

 I’m Oana, and Romania is my home.

I sometimes think people know more about what’s happening on the opposite side of the world than we know about our spouse, friend, colleague.

We found solutions to get our food at the door within 30 minutes, but we still don’t know the  simple shape of intimacy.

We created connections with people we don’t know, and we alienated people who are near us day in and day out.

We nurtured tribes of thousands of “creatives” across the globe, yet we can’t wear meaningful conversations with our neighbors to live a collective better experience.

We brought technology into our lives to binge mindlessly through Netflix, but we don’t know how to take notes while reading a 300+ pages book.

Some of us got richer as individuals and poorer as a global society.

We talk a lot, and we tell way too little.

We debate heavily, but we don’t accept nuances and differences of any kind.

We live in an ocean of biases, but we act like it’s acceptable once we know that.

We hide behind ambitious goals, big challenges, international recognition because we still don’t accept ourselves fully.

We became strangers in our own stories.

When the day we’ll dare to change, our narrative arrives, then we will embrace our emptiness, forgive ourselves and others, and become familiar with the life we could truly live. And just perhaps there will no longer be estrangement…Love, Oana

* Chief People Officer & Storyteller at Pixelgrade, Community builder and host for Creativ înainte de cafea