I've been pondering this post in my head for weeks, even started it once or twice. But couldn't quite seem to work it out.
Connections, to connect, what's it all about? What does the word 'connections' mean to you?
American Heritage Dictionary:
1. Verb, to connect, as in to join or fasten.
2. Verb, to become united, 2 streams connecting to form a river.
It's based on the Latin root, to Bind.
Encarta:
1. to associate somebody or something with another
2. to develop rapport
I've been thinking about this because of the connections I've made in my life over the years, especially in recent years, and how well they've faired, you know, if they've stood the test of time.
This adoption journey we're on has provided a wealth of experience, some positive, some 'not so positive'. But the positive side is full of connections I could have never dreamed of experiencing. Most of the connections involve people, some new, some who've been in our lives for years.
What makes a connection happen in one instance and nothing but dark silence and distance in another? Is it our beliefs? Our backgrounds? Our current commonalities?
If you had to list the things that make a connection likely to happen, what would be on the list? I'd bet our lists would all be dramatically different. I think my list has some of the following traits:
ability to get to know someone deeply, to find common ground(s), a mutual appreciation for raw honesty, ability to make me laugh and vice versa, the possibility of learning new things and growing, the knowledge that they genuinely are interested in me and the knowledge that they like me for who I am
I'm amazed at times how connections with people just spring up out of nowhere, as if a switch turned on all of a sudden. What causes that? What makes it possible? What makes some connections turn on and off like a light bulb and others glow long like the daylight in Alaska in the summer, a virtual unending lightshow?
I'm not sure I can answer that, but I do know this, the people we've connected with, really connected with, during this adoption journey, and the people we had already connected with but now have this deeper relationship with, well, I hope we connect with them for a long time to come and that our friendships resemble the never ending sunlight of the Alaska sky.
here's to connections...
3 comments:
Another well written post! And your Alaska references spark a connection here:)
I think I tend to connect the most with people who share my sense of humor, people who seem to "get me" and I, in turn, "get them", people who seem genuine and kind, and people who are open minded.
The people I've "met" online and made connections with are the ones that truly mystify me. It's amazing to me how you can spend every single day with a colleague, yet never really connect, but can feel connected to someone you know only through print. I don't know if I would've believed it possible a year ago, but now I have been fortunate to find connections with lots of people who are on this adoption journey!
Sometimes it just feels like magic. And, I feel so very fortunate whenever I make a new friend...I mean, a real friend. To me, these days, those discoveries are few, far between and like the most brilliant goldmines.
Here's to connections.....
Somehow you got into my head and posted about something I've been thinking about for a while too. It is amazing to me how quickly I can really relate with some new people in my life that just somehow touch my heart instantly. You are definitely one of them.
This journey has already brought us a few wonderful folks into our circle and I can only hope that they will always be there. Family and almost-family-friends are what fulfill our lives more than anything else in the world.
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