Every day is made up of our stories…some days are more mundane, some are wildly exciting- but all are parts of the weave of the day/week/month/year/life. What makes up the stories? Well there are the obvious things like your work, immediate family, and the daily task of your path. That’s all good stuff. To me, the really fascinating threads are the human interactions, the unexpected words, and experiences that fly all around us continually. I heard a great line recently that goes something like this – “You never know whom you will meet, and what influence/imprint they will have on your life and you on theirs.” Powerful. Amazing. Wonderful. Do you ever wonder why you meet (or met) someone? I have been examining some of the personal relationships in my life lately. Thinking about what is the give and take of these interactions, these friendships, and sometimes these brief and fleeting “moments in time.” (Moments in time are a whole other subject! The big question being how is time really marked and measured – why does it creep at points and fly at others?) Anyhow…..back to connections…Why are some of your friends, I say friends for they are chosen into your life, there? What do you add to their life and they to yours? Some may come and go, but I am pretty sure the ones that are here right NOW are for a reason, big or small.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves the awareness of a human encounter designated “Wow-now I get it.” You may select any other two world members, but it is essential that the first member of your team is yourself! It is also essential that the third member of your team is Yum (Yes, you have to imagine and pretend here! I’m sure you remember how! If you don’t then that too is part of your mission! Yum is the “fairy of goodness,” she makes sure everyone is “behaving” as we would hope intelligent and kind humans should in the world.) She is a magical force as well as masquerading as a civilian, and she is a highly capable professional maker of self awareness. You have forty-eight hours to recruit Yum and meet me in the comments section to report on your mission. As always, should any member of your team be caught or become extra grumpy, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. (Thanks to Mission Impossible for the inspiration of format!)
What do these characters have to do with each other? What IMPACT do they have on each other? ( Left to right, Zoie, Introducing The Monster, and Yum)
This topic seems to be all around me recently. If you Google the word “connections” all sorts of connections appear… books, TV shows, films, schools, computers, Linkedin, a MIT museum exhibit, and that’s just the first page. The connections I am interesting in chatting about here are personal connections. People to People, and the connections we all encounter daily.
I follow a blog by John Paul Caponigro, a contemporary photographer whose works I admire and enjoy. He apparently is having some similar thoughts, for on the 13 of Jan, his posting was of 28 of his favorite quotes on being connected. Here are two of my favorite ones from his listing…(all of them are here)
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it is attached to the rest of the world” – John Muir “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” — Herman Melville
So here is a connection, chance (?), coincidence? I was chatting with a friend about (coincidentally (!)) coincidences. Pondering the questions of this post – i.e connections, verses chance verses coincidence. He brought up Moby Dick and some thoughts from that. I thought, hmm, I never read that and I would like too. Now a quote I happen to pick is from Herman Melville – which I had to think about whom he even was…and the list goes on and one each week. It happens to us all, it’s just if you happen to notice.
Back to human connections. You smile to a stranger, you nod to a passerby, you kiss your spouse and children goodnight, you laugh with a friend(s)…you cry with a friend(s), you help a friend, you help a stranger; those are all unquestionably connections. But, did you call your friend at just the right time they needed you? Maybe your smile made a big difference to a lonely strangers day? You get the point. Remember the saying – Every action has a reaction – all those actions connect the threads of our days, years, “beings” – therefore, all things we do have connections of one kind or another. “A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. Our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” – Herman Melville (again)
Granted, some connections are strong, some are positive, and some are not. It’s all about balance. You breathe in the good ones, and with some thought and luck, you can breathe out and spread/share the good. Try to let go of the lesser and negative ones. Maybe you can breathe them out as well, but without the intent of sharing. The power of intent is the difference here. I suppose the point here is – just what do you do with the gazillions of connections over a day, a week, a year, a lifetime?
Lets agree, at least for the time it takes you to read this post, that we ARE all connected. Remember from above – “A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.“Even if it is just by some minuscule air molecules, or maybe by some “energy,” or maybe from some spiritual “force” that you can call/name whatever makes you comfortable and happy, lets agree we all are indeed connected in some way, shape, or form. Therefore, since we are all connected here is my challenge to you. If you tried just a little harder to “make a connection” that was a little out of comfort zone, what would that be? What ripple effect would like to create out there?
I am not talking about “World peace” – obviously we all would like that…but something much closer to home. I have had a few really spectacular connections of late, the two that first come to mind are – 1) meeting a stranger whom I was able to help in ways beyond words, and 2) a random meeting up with an neighbor (that I have not seen since Oct.) that has information that is potentially very helpful to me. My own “out of comfort zone” challenge is – to stop thinking about writing my book(s) and get writing- for the ripple(s) of the good messages the books can disseminate are exciting! I can potentially connect to so many more people! Another is … well really now, don’t you think it’s your turn to tell me?
Moths to butterflies, flower buds to Botanical Beauties (of both kinds), nuts and bolts, wine and cheese, arts and culture, smiles and laughter, computers and the internet, smart devices and apps, house and home, heartbeats and life, acceptance and love….so many kinds of connections!
The connections I want to chat about today are friends and places. Some friends you picked, some picked you, some are family and, for me, not only are some humans but some are animals-usually dogs! (smiles) However, they are all connections I feel strongly about. I traveled this past week or so, made a big loop of old, and dear, friends in two states and three places in my mind. When I was driving home I was thinking about where do I feel “connected” and where is home these days? I was driving back to my physical home, walls I love being within. These walls hold my dogs, my memories, my things, and many good aspects for me. The area (place) holds wonderful friends. It is my present life, where I work, where I am! The present, and being in the present, is good- it helps one feel connected! This is positively one home of mine. But, that is my point, it’s only one home, one place of a few I connect with…HomeTwo: I am very attached to those friends and family I just visited up North. I feel very ‘connected’ when I see them, connected when I walk/drive many of those streets, and even though I have nothing to do with the community anymore I still feel connected to it. There is the familiar and much history for me in home #2. It’s a strong connection, a pull, a draw. A place I am comfortable in, feel safe in, as well fun and welcoming. Home Three: My connections to the place I grew up are also very strong, those friends, and naturally family connections, and love, envelopes me wherever I go. As expected, many memories and good things here too… I am lucky; I have three “safe havens” to dock in. All offer different pluses as well as a few minus, but that’s all part of what makes up a place -the location, the people, the attractions/activities, the CONNECTIONS that attach you!
It reminds me of a paper clip chain, all looped together and all connected. Mine winds up and down from N. Carolina, to Northern New York, to Vermont and Maine! The other image that comes to mind is that of a butterfly. All the colors of the wings, flying, or fluttering if you prefer, changing from moth to butterfly. That transformation, somehow is a connection and has always astonished me. Then, those little antennas that do such much! I admit I looked up the word antenna just to make sure I was spelling it correctly but the definitions are wonderful, think figuratively! “thin sensory appendages…the faculty of instinctively detecting and interpreting subtle signs…a transmitter!” Talk about connecting! If we could all do that all the time- WOW! That begs the question of Connections and how does it interact with Communications? Maybe a post soon…
noun1 Zoology (pl. antennae |-ˈtenē|) either of a pair of long, thin sensory appendages on the heads of insects, crustaceans, and some other arthropods. • (antennae) the faculty of instinctively detecting and interpreting subtle signs: he has the political antennae of a party whip. 2 (pl. antennas) a rod, wire, or other device used to transmit or receive radio or television signals.
