Connection.
Connection is a powerful word. It’s a word that we use to describe the relationship between two things that fit together in a way that contributes to their wholeness.
Think about it…
When you sit down to do a puzzle, you look for connection. You find pieces that connect together to make the picture on the puzzle box complete.
Same with building with Lego…and pretty much anything else that you create.
When you create a winning team of people, you look for connection. You find people that connect well and who contribute together to accomplish something.
Without connection, our world would become an isolated mess of lonely, disengaged people.
Without connection, our physical, mental, and social health would rapidly decline.
The bottom line is…we need connection, because connection is what makes us human. It contributes to our wholeness as people.
Right now, we are all learning the power of connection. In the midst of the “stay at home orders” and quarantining measures that have been taken to keep us all safe, we are all experiencing the negative effects of loneliness and disconnection.
This is true for us as mentors, and it’s true for the students we mentor.
We all need connection…because we are better together than we are alone.
So, what do we do now? How can we best help each other and the students in our communities during this extended time of disconnection?
We can start by recognizing our own need for connection and look for ways to regularly connect with people in appropriate ways. As spring weather gives us sunnier and longer days, connection is no longer limited to a screen. And, the combination of sunshine and connecting face-to-face with a friend can be life-giving in times like these.
So, start there…and check back next week for more ways we can best help each other through this unusual season of disconnection.