We are all broken and emotionally damaged.
Hi @christineoehme and welcome on board! You might want to read @dennis on this same approach - learning about not belittling anyone through language or actions (even unintended). His story is called A New Chapter in Other People’s Story Books
Your intuition about needs we all have is also spot on. I was reading the other day a telling piece on Medium explaining how “most humans alive right now are broken. Our communities have been stripped of gathering places. We find ourselves isolated and alone, with heads in the digital cloud and eyes fixed to the screen. We are not ready to look one another in the eye. The shame we feel as we strive to do everything right (the way we were taught) — as we fail to get jobs, are unable to keep up with growing rental prices, and are displaced increasingly from our homes — that shame and humiliation is why we don’t come together.” (source)
The author’s thesis is that we can’t provide care for others until we regenerate ourselves. I have to say, I find it hard to disagree. Any thoughts?