Are you feeling connected?

Are you feeling connected?  And I don't mean on Facebook, Instagram, computer, or phone.  I am talking about real person to person connection.  Sure, I'll be the first to admit that I have connections via the internet that are fun, supportive and enjoyable. For sure, I have friends ( and family) that I know IRL (in real life) on FB and Instagram, however so many of these "connections" are just not grounded in real, live, human connection. 

We are all craving connection.  We are more "connected" than ever, and yet we find ourselves feeling alone, disconnected and hiding. We find ourselves comparing and judging, while others compare and judge us.

These redwood tree roots remind me how we need real connection.  These roots of the trees wrap around one another, they don't go deep, they go wide. They become intertwined and create an amazing system that provides support for all the trees. The trees become a force of nature when the winds and storms come. They thrive in these thick forests where they create a "community" to ensure their survival.  Redwoods can never survive alone, and neither can we.

Just like the redwood forest needs a community to survive, we women ( and men), need communities, tribes, groups who with whom our roots are so strongly connected that we can then withstand the harsh windstorms of life, because they will come.  It's not likely that your 562 friends on Facebook will come to your aid when you get cancer or your child is sick, you have to pack up and move, your business is struggling or your spouse dies.

Having moved a lot over the years, I found that a church was my best way for me to find and create a community.  If you have children, then you know that other parents who are challenged with similar struggles can be a great support. Now as a business owner, I find strength in the women who are also doing this work in the world. We grow, we support, we have set backs and we connect. We share our dreams, our desires, our heartaches and our struggles. We grieve and laugh and give and receive.

Like theses big, beautiful trees that are grounded and connected, let us do that in our homes, communities, states, nations and the world.  There is power in connection. There is support in connection. There is hope and love in connection, it means we are all in this together.

I have recently discovered how much I was missing truly being connected and feeling grounded in my work and in my life.  I sought out women that were seeking that too.  Together we are thriving. No one does it alone, not even a 35 foot tall majestic redwood.