Taking Time to Connect

I have written in the past about establishing a connection to nature, about having a connection with a higher power. We all need to feel connected in this world. I want to talk a bit about forming connections with each other.

This fast-paced world with all its time-saving gadgets leaves us spent, depleted and wondering if there is more out there somewhere..perhaps more things to do, more things to buy, more things to see…I challenge you to make more time to connect with those around you. Not by email, not my text message. That’s not connecting!! Face to face, read my lips connection time. Pick a friend, child or spouse and really spend time understanding what it means to be in relationship with that person. Have tea. Go for a walk. But please learn to reconnect with those around you. We are losing that capacity, and we are teaching our children a very poor habit.

Children today are not playing together like they did years ago. They are on computers, they are texting, they are emailing. They are playing on computerized, automated, interactive TV games instead of going outside and playing kickball in the neighborhood. They are never learning the ability to communicate, to problem solve and negotiate resolutions between peers. We learned all these things through childhood play and school. We, as adults,  are forgetting these things now, because we are “too busy” to relate anymore.

I encourage you to reaquaint yourself with the positive power of relating and connecting to your friends and family. Make the effort and the time. We live in a crowded yet lonely world. For all the people in it, many of us are very alone. Depression and anxiety as well as many other mental illnesses are on the rise, and I can’t help but think that our self-made boundaries and seclusionary tactics are at least partly to blame.

Please take the time to contact someone you care about today and meet with them to catch up. And while you are out and about, look people in the eye and say “good morning” and wait for a reply. Engage strangers in conversation and listen. Chat with the cashier or waitress. Be present. Hold a door for someone and exchange pleasantries. Be open to the possiblities. It is worth taking the time. It is what makes life meaningful.

Enjoy.

Diane