An angry gray sky greeted me. Standing at the top of the flight of stairs which opened to the roof, the breeze mussed my hair and reminded me I was near the ocean. It also whispered that rain was coming.

It was a risk to hang my heaping basket of wet laundry, but I had no choice. I grabbed the heavy towels. Clip. Clip. Shirts attached next, then socks. Clip. Clip. In the midst of the up-and-down, picking-and-clipping repetition, I had lots of time to think.

I was sad. I'd been sad for a while. I rarely smiled or laughed. All of my actions felt laborious.

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A wise Arab once said, “One hand doesn’t clap.”

One hand needs another hand to make an effective sound. Similarly, humans aren’t meant to function alone. We need others to help us accomplish goals, to laugh and grow together, and to keep us from feeling isolated.

When social isolation occurs, it accentuates any problem.

Maybe this month is your time to reboot? To step back and reconsider how to fully live in this new season? How can I do that?

Being able to notice symptoms in yourself and others is a very useful skill for those living cross-culturally.  The type of life we live adds enormous amounts of stress and can eat away at our sense of identity.