Category Archives: Connection

Live in the good of each conversation

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“Live in the good of each conversation.”

—Sue Heatherington, author of Quiet Disruptors: Creating Change Without Shouting

Image from Unsplash by Alexis Brown

Every so often I come across the work of someone that touches something deep inside. On occasion, I post comments and write to them directly with my thoughts, and to establish a type of dialogue.

With Sue Heatherington, I took an additional step and requested an actual conversation over Zoom, which she kindly accepted.

After our 70-minute conversation, we both felt we were just getting started. We intend to speak again in the coming months, and will undoubtedly discover much more good in these conversations.

EXERCISE:

Please investigate Sue’s remarkable work at sueheatherington.com. Perhaps reach out and connect with someone like her in your online communities, to live in the good of a future conversation.

How do you log into life

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How do you log into life? Where do your devices serve and where do they distract you from focusing on what’s most important?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Mourizal Zativa

How did you log into life when you were a kid? How did your parents and grandparents do it?

What devices were available at the time to discover what was going on in the world?

To what degree did and do the following items serve as means of keeping up and connecting with others?

  • Letters of correspondence
  • Books, magazines, and printed materials
  • Records, tapes, CDs, streaming services
  • Television, movies
  • Telegrams, snail mail, e-mail, texting
  • Beepers, pagers, smartphones
  • The internet, social media
  • Family dinners and social gatherings

EXERCISE:

How was your trip down memory lane?

What have you gained or lost along the way?

What “logging in” approaches currently serve you best?

How do you expect things to evolve in the years ahead?

“I think that when the dust settles, we will realize how little we need, how very much we actually have, and…”

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“I think that when the dust settles, we will realize how little we need, how very much we actually have, and the true value of human connection.”

—Author Unknown

Marvin Demp

On March 7 at 1:47 a.m., my father Marvin passed on to be with my mom and other loved ones in Heaven. The morning of his passing, I asked Google to play some of his favorite songs. A direct message came from my dad when “Cheek to Cheek” played — it begins with the words, “Heaven, I’m in Heaven…”.

As we cried and celebrated the life of this wonderful man, my family, friends, and the many loving and generous caregivers who supported him experienced the value and joy of our many human connections.

EXERCISE:

What are some of your stories of extraordinary and simple moments of human connection? How can you more fully embrace the richness these moments offer you each and every day?

 

“Every great group is an island – but an island with a bridge to the mainland.”

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“Every great group is an island – but an island with a bridge to the mainland.”

—Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward, Organizing Genius

Image from Unsplash by Mohamed Thasneem

During my walk this morning the lyrics, “No man is an island, no man stands alone” ran through my mind. The topic of my daily meditation session was interconnectedness.

My daughter and grandson are visiting for the first time in almost six months. Belonging and being a part of our communities has clearly been disrupted and challenged recently, and most of us can feel a sense of emptiness longing to be filled.

Take a close look at all the groups to which you belong. How do they look today? Consider examining any or all of the following, and a few of your own:

• Family • Race
• Neighbors • Age
• City, State, Country • Religion/Faith
• Gender • Career

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you see, build, and cross the bridges between the numerous islands in your life, to find the fundamental mainland we all share?

“It’s all about your audience.”

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“It’s all about your audience.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Gabriel Benois

While walking around my neighborhood the other day I ran into Paul, a friend from my health club when it is not closed due to social distancing efforts.

While keeping our distance, we discussed our families. Mine live in other states, his live nearby. Surprisingly, we discovered that we are both using video chatting platforms to stay connected. He informed me that it was virtually impossible to buy a webcam due to the spike in this method of communication.

In some ways, we have all become video celebrities with our families, friends, and business colleagues as our audiences, and we as theirs.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you more fully demonstrate just how important these people are to you today, and when we can (hopefully) reconnect in person?

“When people are like each other, they tend to like each other.”

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“When people are like each other, they tend to like each other.”

—Tony Robbins, American author, philanthropist and life coach

Image of Jane Goodall and a chimp

Image from the Jane Goodall Collection

Did you know that humans and chimpanzees share about 96 percent of the same DNA? Perhaps this is why we enjoy documentaries on these special creatures. When we observe them, we see numerous ways we are alike, such as in the care and nurturing of baby chimps.

Regarding human-to-human interactions, we often operate out of the Birds of a Feather Flock Together idea. At the same time, we can be very focused on where and how we differ as reasons to avoid, dislike, and even hate one another.

EXERCISE:

How would looking for the similarities and common characteristics and traits of others be the source of more friendships and closer communities in your world?

Not enough people in the world

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“Not enough people in the world, I think, carry a cosmic perspective with them. It could be life-changing.”

—Neil deGrasse Tyson, American Astrophysicist

Image of Neil deGrasse Tyson

Image from mountainx.com

Perhaps no single person since Carl Sagan has excited the public more about the wonders of science than Neil deGrasse Tyson. His recent work as host of Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey goes steps beyond Sagan’s 1980 version, Cosmos: a Personal Voyage.

Learning about how our universe works and taking a cosmic perspective has me appreciate equally my smallness and my connection to the whole of everything. This perspective has given me a passion for learning and self-development. That, in turn, has provided me much joy and satisfaction, and permits me to embrace the impermanence and the miracle of being alive.

EXERCISE:

How would taking a far more cosmic perspective of your life provide you access to living an even more extraordinary one?

Friday Review Connection

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Friday Review: Connection

Relationships are all about connection. Here are a few connection-related posts you may have missed. Click the link to read the full message.

 

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”

 

 

 

 

“A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you.”

 

 

 

 

“Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.”

 

 

 

Six Honest Serving Men

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“I keep six honest serving men: (They taught me all I knew) Their names were Where and What and When and Why and How and Who.”

—Rudyard Kipling, 20th Century English Journalist & Poet

Begin a conversation with any of the Six Honest Serving Men from Kipling’s quote and you’re off to a great start in learning something new. You may even develop or nurture a new or existing relationship.

Powerful open-ended questions beginning with one of the Six Honest Serving Men open doors to new knowledge. They also demonstrate a genuine interest in others, which we all relish.

For today, I suggest you direct these probing and door-opening words toward yourself, to see what new worlds of discovery lie within.

EXERCISE:

Ask and answer some of your most important and pressing questions of the day. Then consider asking “What Else?” to see what you can learn by probing deeper than your surface answers.

We are like islands in the sea

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“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.”

—William James, 19th Century American Philosopher/Physician

Image of Human Planet TV Show

One of my favorite forms of entertainment and education is watching documentaries, especially when they relate to our natural world. In the BBC series Human Planet, the filmmakers take us on a journey to many fascinating places around the world, including diverse island communities.

To my delight and fascination, many deeply held common bonds are shared by each society, such as the importance of family, community, contribution, and the desire to serve a higher purpose.

EXERCISE:

How can you look below the surface of your current professional and personal relationships to see more of what connects versus separates us from one another?