We live on a floating rock bound by gravity, the invisible force of attraction that keeps everything grounded or within predictable orbit. This must explain our longing for attachment and consistency.
There are a lot of people who feel unsafe no matter how much money or prestige or love they have. They aren’t securely attached to the world, to themselves, to other people.
We all want to feel connected to something. Close friends and family add weight that keeps one grounded. A good partner feels safe and predictable. A satisfying career creates orbit. Much like the Earth and revolving planets are bound, connection is a communal affair.
In celestial mechanics, escape velocity is the minimum speed needed for a free, non-propelled object to escape from the gravitational influence of a primary body, thus reaching an infinite distance from it.
A person is a celestial body with mass, radius, and a unique gravitational constant. I imagine that essays, books, music, films and other such portals into alternate realities create a form of potential energy that pushes us towards escape velocity. I imagine travel as a release of this energy. It creates distance between bodies, but this distance forces us to build the gravitational influence necessary to stay within orbit.
What’s contributed to my sense of safety?
– Feeling loved by someone who appreciates me as I am and is accepting instead of reflexively critical.
– Having close friends whom I see regularly and share large parts (social, emotional, intellectual, work) of my life with
– Psychedelics
– Financial/logistical security
What’s contributed to my sense of safety?
Making things and looking forward to finishing them
Commitment to my job and my team; success as a reward
Having so many people I can be fearlessly open and honest around
Feeling genuinely loved by friends and family in spite of me
Complete trust in my ability to do anything I set my mind to
Financial security with a social safety net
As I’ve shifted to being more secure, I’ve noticed exactly what Josh describes: this background sense of “things will be okay” that I never had growing up. Becoming more present and involved with community was a conscious effort to build the gravity necessary to weather migration, to stay connected regardless of distance, to re-affirm my identity before deconstructing it once again. I’m glad I made this decision. It has done so much good for my sense of place and belonging.