Sunday Thoughts|Connecting Without Wifi
I was listening to Erykah Badu's "Phone Down" when I began to think about connection. As we've connected more via social media, the person-to-person connections have dwindled as a result. And now we're paying the price by caring more about what someone posts rather than what they say to you. While I know that social media and the internet at large were the next stages in technological evolution, I can't help but miss the days when everyone cared about people because they took the time to know each other outside of 140 characters.
I sometimes wonder if interpersonal connections are going out of style. But then I remember that I'm raising the next generation. I've been blessed with the opportunity to teach someone how important it is to take the time to know people and their stories independent of a screen. And the fact that he's a boy who will one day be a young man wanting to date only makes that lesson more important because he must know how to truly connect. Interpersonal relationships may be in shorter supply than before, but as long as there are parents, teachers, and leaders at large who live it and pass it along, it will never die.
Take time to think about your interactions. I did, and I noticed how my interpersonal relationships have not been at the level that I'd like. My empathy is lower than I'm comfortable with. Great thing about being honest with yourself is that it provides you the first sliver of light to find your way out of the darkness.
Take time this week to ask someone about their day. How their weekend was. What their plans for the 4th are. Connect with people. Show people you actually care, even if it's a stranger. I took the time to connect with a pregnant waitress and ended up having a great conversation about working while having Braxton Hicks contractions. I left feeling a little happier for putting my phone down and still being able to connect.
Who can you connect with today? Who in your office, mom's group or church can you strike up a conversation with? I challenge you (and myself) to LIVE the answer.
Talk to you soon.