Connection is defined as “a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else”. We aren’t as good at connection where we are the one side of a relationship to a person, thing or idea.
Are there examples? Ideas that are difficult for us to grasp. Interacting with people can be a challenge. Learning how to use new software can be frustrating. All are evidence that we are not as good at connection as we think.
Frequently, in conversations that don’t involve us, we explain & embrace connection very easily. We actually feel connected when explaining. Even when we know little about the relationship between two other persons, things or ideas. We like being the expert in everyday conversation.
Yet when we desire to be part of a connection to a person, place or thing, there is an aspect of putting in the time that we miss. It cannot be escaped. If meaningful & deeper connection is what we need to expose the rich tapestry that our lives can offer, time and effort is the only way this can occur. Time that our distracted lives do not offer us.
To connect involves going deeper into cultivating the relationship we seek with an idea, thing, or person. To understand them better. Seeing all sides of them for more balanced observation.
To do this, we must be present and pay attention more. Think meditation, active listening, extended reading, or prayer as ways to be more present. Teaching us how to pay attention more. Quieting ourselves so that others or other things stand out in a way that we can learn from them without the noise of our everyday life.
Our jumbled emotions blind us further impeding connection. Frustration, anger, pride, or ego. Our insistence to be right or superior, traps & kills the curiosity needed to explore things much deeper to find the possibilities within them.
Everything mentioned, to this point, is evident. Yet there is another, more hidden, layer of connection that we take for granted. Sharing, helping, caring, encouraging, and forgiving are more basic ways that we need to master for greater connection. Our rushed lives keep us from nurturing these feelings of empathy and compassion that are foundational to loving your fellow man. Making our ability to connect, additionally, more imperfect with respect to people.
Today, provides us with the hope to connect a bit better than we did the day before. For making a difference, for making our lives and our world a better place, depends on our ability to overcome our imperfections, as well as those in others, in order to strengthen the connections between our world of ideas, things, and the people that share in our lives for the better.