By Sr. Whitney Schieltz, SC Federation Canonical Novice
Last week I joined other
novices in St. Louis for a workshop on sexuality with Sr. Lynn Levo, CSJ. Among the many dimensions of this subject, we
learned that sexuality is about growing
into communion and wholeness in and through relationship. As Sr. Lynn reminded us throughout the week,
“I can’t be me without you, and you can’t be you without me.”
symbols used in a social atom |
In order to reflect upon the
relationships in our lives—those that help us become more fully ourselves—we
were each asked to draw a social atom. Beginning with a blank piece of paper, we
drew a symbol in the middle to represent ourselves. Then we reflected on the question: What are the significant relationships in my
life right now? It was up to us to
define what constitutes a “significant relationship.” Using circles for females and triangles for
males, we added symbols to the page to signify our family, friends, community
members, etc. Inside each shape we wrote
the name of the person symbolized; and even deceased persons with whom we still
feel connected could be included. Other shapes
we used were a circle/triangle combo to represent God and squares to represent
groups of people. The closer a symbol is
placed to the center, the deeper we feel in relationship to that person or
group.
Once we finished drawing our
social atoms, Sr. Lynn had us ask ourselves to complete two thoughts: “I
notice…” and “I’m feeling…” Some people noted the imbalance of female and male
relationships, while others noticed that their family members were not the
closest people to the center. And the
feelings people shared included joy, gratitude, surprise, sadness, and many
more. It was incredible how many
awarenesses rose out of that simple activity.
example of a social atom (use names inside your symbols) |
So now I invite you to make
your own social atom. Don’t overthink
it. Don’t worry about forgetting someone
or about how close to place them. Follow
your first instincts. And remember, this
is about your significant relationships now,
not what they used to be or what you hope they will be. Then take time to sit with the result and ask
yourself what it tells you about yourself and the people around you. How does it make you feel? Why?
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