Let’s get back to Love!

Here on Flowerchild777, we promote Freedom Fridays. Today, I wanted to bring attention to an important aspect of our freedom, and that is the freedom to love our family!

Sometimes we can get so caught up with 🎵work, work, work, work, work, work…we forget all about love and family.

This tweet was created from my recognition of the work/life imbalance here in the U.S. and how social media has become the main mode of communication between loved ones.

Feel free to listen to the audio in conjunction with reading this post.

Do you guys remember having to call each other on the house phone to chat? Or when we would walk/ride our bike to that special person’s house? We had to try a lot harder to connect with people we cared about. But it was that EFFORT that showed a person you really cared.

Now, we have social media. And we ASSUME that post or that picture is LAW. Like, “they must be doing good because they made a post and said…” Listen…it took a whole 30 seconds to write that post and that post could have been a bold faced lie!

You can cloak your feelings with words, but you can’t hide that hurt in your voice and I bet you can’t cover that pain in your eyes when I’m sitting across from you. I bet you that hug or that ugly gut laugh will heal more than a like or comment on a picture!

There was a blog published by Mindbodygreen.com (and medically reviewed by Dr. Bindiya Gandhi) that listed 10 reasons why hugging can be used to calm and heal the body, and I found this to be interesting.

Research shows that hugging can benefit you in these ways.

Hugging is beneficial to your cardiovascular health. It contributes to maintaining a neutral blood pressure during stressful situations.
Hugs instantly boost oxytocin levels, the bonding hormone in relationships, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.
Hugging lifts serotonin levels, elevating mood and promoting psychological wellbeing.
Hugs strengthen the immune system by boosting levels of natural killer cells, lymphocytes, immunoglobulins, and other immune-boosting cells.
Hugging boosts self-esteem. It begins when we’re born and infants and is embedded in our nervous system as adults. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self-love.
Hugging relaxes muscles. Hugs release tension in the body. Hugs can take away pain; they soothe aches by increasing circulation into the soft tissues.
Hugs balance the nervous system. Sensations are created on the skin which stimulates nerve endings.
Hugging has anti-aging benefits.
Hugs are a form of nonverbal communication. You can pick up on a person’s emotion of fear, sadness, anger, or happiness with just a hug.
The energy exchange between people hugging is an investment in the relationship. It encourages empathy and understanding and neutralizes arguments between couples.

The significance of Sankofa

Mythical bird twisting its beak backwards to fetch an egg.

Sankofa is a Ghanaian term derived from the Akan tribe and its literal translation means “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.”

The Akan people believed strongly that going back to gain insight of the past serves as a vital tool for planning the future.

This symbol is a significant reminder that we must also remember to balance our pursuits with rest and heartfelt connections. If we make the mistake and neglect love for money, then our world will turn cold.

Living in South and Central America served as a Sankofa moment for me. Witnessing the natives place love and family at the center of their lives was enriching. It felt good to see that some cultures still valued an immeasurable energy (Amor) over physical currency. And I hope for the North American continent, we can restore that as well.

Let’s start today on a small scale by getting back to genuinely checking on one another. Social media is cool for business and networking, but it’s not enough for love and personal connections.

Let us all make time for those who truly matter. Let’s not forget communion with our loved ones. Communion transliterates ss com- “with, together” + unus “oneness, union.”

Every Friday, let’s remember the cornerstone of our existence and our daily ambitions…which is family, legacy, compatibility, and unity.

Let’s get back to genuine, heartfelt connections with our family. Love, to some degree, is the reason WHY we are all here! So, let’s get back to love!

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