Tis’ the season! We have this special chance to connect with someone we don’t yet know - to join one another on this shared journey.
We stand in lines or aisles. We pass each other on sidewalks and in parking lots. We sit next to one another in church, in waiting rooms or subway stops. And within that space between strangers is where possibility hangs in the air~ and each one of us has the chance to reach for it. We have the chance to reach for a moment when, instead of being strangers with eyes averted or cast down or out of reach, we become humans noticing other humans.
We say hello.
We show a simple smile.
We comment on our surroundings or situation.
We ask a lighthearted question.
We pay a simple compliment.
And just like that the space narrows. We’ve reached for a connection and now step into something new. Maybe we’re both in line for the same reason. Maybe we both use the same gluten free flour or love the same author or are heading on a warm weather vacation to the same destination.
“Are you headed home to Ireland or visiting,?” he says to me.
I smile. “We are visiting as a celebration for my son’s college graduation,” I answer.
“Well you must see this… and go here… and stay here…,” he responds excitedly.
And just like that we have a connection sitting next to one another on a long flight overseas. We exchange words throughout the flight and we realize we have a lot in common. As fast as we come together, we go our separate ways and begin to exit the plane. That’s probably the last time we’ll see each other, but the space between strangers has gently been filled. We say goodbye and wish each other blessings. I think how simple that was, how much better it feels to live that way. Sometimes it only takes two minutes to establish camaraderie … in a world where no one looks up.
Sometimes a connection ends after a simple hello or a smile before you keep going your own way.
Reminding us that underneath the paths we’re moving along is a root system of connectedness that overlaps and crisscrosses and holds us all so wonderfully together. And acknowledging those roots of connectedness is one of the easiest additions to our days. It is so free and ripe for the reaching that our sidewalks, paths, airports, grocery store aisles, and church pews could burst with them: all those connection points found.
So today and through this holiday season, let’s keep our eyes up. Let’s find each other on this shared journey. Our world needs these connections now more than ever!
Blessings and Peace~