We Thrive In Connection - Diane Marie Ford

We are all connected to one another, living and dead, whether we like it or not.

However, we are currently living deeply disconnected lives.

We can pretty much fulfill our needs without making face-to-face contact with the ‘outside world’ and we do a good job of ignoring all efforts made to connect by our loved ones in spirit.

You have to wonder if we are perfecting the art of solitude. And, are we doing so without our own consent? We ‘pull away’ in incremental steps and barely notice life as it becomes smaller and our dependence upon others withers away.

The problem is we are drifting further and further away from our families, our communities, ourselves. It’s so easy to do. We begin to learn to live without the help of others, and lead ourselves to believe our isolation is independence. In doing so, we perpetuate more of the same.

Unless and until we realize that no man or woman is an island, we will continue to drift along, untethered and devoid of any need for human companionship. We may believe social media is enough, and then we believe social media is all we need. Yes, staying connected is staying connected, but social media connections will never take the place of real lives, face-to-face, human interaction.

What can you do, you may be asking yourself?

How about:

Vow to put down your devices for an hour or so and look around – take in your surroundings. What do you see? How do you feel? If you could do anything right now, what would you do? Good – do that! And then find a way to do that again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day…
Set aside some time to sit in quiet solitude and tune into the energy of your loved ones in spirit. They are a fount of love, advice, guidance and wisdom. Experiencing a problem? Seek their advice. Need a little extra love in your life? Ask them for some. Ask them what you can do for them. (After all, it is in the giving that one receives – yes?)
Make plans to get together with someone you have been thinking about but haven’t made the time to call. Leave your cell phones off during your time together and be an active listener. Hold the space for your friend to be heard.

We are all connected to one another, living and dead, whether we like it or not. We are a social species and we thrive in connection. We all want to thrive, whether we are consciously aware of that or not.

You have the power to remove the ‘dis’ from the word disconnected and contribute to the re-creation of a more connected, social, mutually dependent world.