March 9, 2022

Humanity has strived to and thrived with creating and maintaining connections – connections with each other, our environment, and most importantly ourselves. If we aren’t connected with ourselves and our own needs then life can be very challenging indeed. Yet so many of us go through life disconnected. We exist merely to be – nothing else but to take up space on the third rock from the sun.

The world is filled with so many opportunities to connect. Nature embraces us with its beauty. Art and literature connect us with the past and many possible futures. Have you ever seen a painting or read a story and felt an intimate connection with that piece of art?

These connections have enabled humanity to evolve past merely living and existing. We have grown through the ages by finding ways to connect. Once we learn to connect with the world around us it is an intimate and almost innate thing to find a way to connect with oneself. A feeling that is deep and pure can enter a person that feels a true connection with their soul.

Technology has brought forth many new ways to connect, so why does our world feel more disconnected than ever before. Is it because it is too easy? Has the challenge of distance and time been taken over by instant gratification? We no longer have to work for our connections. We merely turn on a screen or a device in our pocket and boom – instant connection.

Yet when we were young there was a thrill in walking to our friend’s home and knocking on the door. Were they there? Were they busy? Invariably most people were happy to see a friend that came to visit.

Now it is almost unheard of to just knock on someone’s door without calling ahead – or even worse – texting.

Texting has become an impersonal way to communicate. There is no better way to be misunderstood or frustrated than to engage in a textersation with someone. Yet more and more that is the communication of choice. It is too easy to type a few words into the screen and press send. And when it comes to arguments – texting has taken a life of its own. People have no fear typing words they dare not say unless, of course, they have mastered voice to text. I will never understand voice to text. If you want to talk to someone why talk to the phone and press send? Just pick up the phone and call.

Our society and our world have changed so much in the last twenty years since the invention and adaptation of social media and the use of the internet. We could hope that all this technology has improved our ability to connect yet it has accomplished the exact opposite. We can become friends with people we barely know and unfriend people we have known for a lifetime.

All with the click of a button.  

Then came the pandemic.

And all the disconnect of our society was magnified in a few short months. We were told to stay “social distanced” from each other. We were told we could no longer dance, live music was banned and the people in our lives that rely on personal connection the most were left to stare out the window, isolated for their own protection. The elderly and weak were left on their own with no connection. Was it worth the suffering to protect them from a viral foe they could not see? So many people lay on their own in isolation. People were dying on the inside without even one last hug from a loved one. To protect the weakest members of society we let them suffer in isolation without the most important thing they needed – connection.

I hope we have learned from these last two years. I hope that we can renew the thing that is the most important to our humanity – connection.

Don’t be afraid to hug a friend. Do not hesitate to hug someone who needs it most – the ones you love. And don’t be afraid to love yourself enough to welcome a hug from someone else.

Most importantly – stay connected.