Sense Virtual Meet-Up, June

Through the Sense Virtual Meet-Ups, we hope to open ourselves up for serendipitous connection and conversation with people from around the world to reflect on our collective experiences and discuss our hopes for the future.

It was wonderful to meet and get to know all of those who joined in:

• Hernando // Alternative Thinker
• Sabrina // Passionate Mind 
• Bethany // Travel Obsessed 
• Jeff // Explorer
• Jacqui // Ghost Hunter
• Sophie // Intuitive Thinker
• Karen // Curious Observer
• Anna-Marie // Nature Lover
• Courtney // Food Adventurer 
• Rakshita // Flaneur

• The reflections on Zoom connections: Physical and geographical proximity to other people does not necessarily mean meaningful connection.We’re now more open to connection across geographic boundaries. We’ve all made concerted efforts to feel less ‘isolated’ and meet-up ‘virtually’ – where it was once unlikely to ask for a Zoom/FaceTime coffees, it’s now the norm to connect with those from worlds like and unlike yourself. Zoom meets do have it’s set of challenges, but we can all agree that we do not want to lose the ‘openness to connect’.
• Vulnerability: there has been a shift in the way we connect with each other. We are all now willing to be more vulnerable and open to honestly share how we’re feeling – and have overwhelmingly encountered others that reciprocate this openness. The facade of perfection of our online personas that we sometimes feel compelled to project on social media has been peeled away – and a willingness to reveal personal struggles have allowed us to feel less isolated.
• This has been a time to reflect on our ‘self’ in relation to the world. Our world is in a transitional period, the faults in our systems have been exposed by the pandemic: how does this relate to our place and purpose in creating a better more equal society? This is an interesting time to pause and question ‘what can we do next?’ We’re in a really powerful position where we can control what our collective futures look like – and to change what hasn’t worked for people, environment and our societies as a whole.
• Mental, spiritual and physical well being: how do we find our sense of inner-equilibrium? We are our harshest critics. How can we ensure our ‘inner-voices’ are kinder to maintain inner-peace and find joy within ourselves?
• Our collective visions and hopes for the future: Transparent, Self-Sufficient, Sustainable, Discovery, Hopefulness, Gratefulness, Interconnectedness, Networks, Opportunity.

Here are some of the suggestions, references and links shared from you all: