Connect

by Stephanie F. Earls

A few days ago I took my kids to the bookstore. My oldest son brought along a personal computer game because he wanted to see if he could connect via wifi to other people playing the game he was playing. As we walked around the store  he watched the little machine, taking note of how many bars he had...2, now 3, now 2, now 1.  We made our way into the back of the store and while I was looking at something I heard his little voice saying, "connect, connect, connect", almost begging for his game to find other players.

It made me laugh a little because I have had moments like that where my technology lapses...cable modem freezes up or my cell phone does not get service and I am trying to connect.

It can be frustrating, we want to reach out and find eachother....blogs, facebook, telephone, emails. But, if electricity goes out or nothing's coming through, we feel alone. We sit there saying, "connect, connect, connect".

At our core, as much as we value our individuality, we also crave the connection to others, to community and most of all, to ourselves. We long for feeling connected, in touch, alive.

So how do we do it? You can be in a room of 100 people and feel totally alone.  You can be sitting next to your best friend and feel alone. You can have your internet connection working perfectly: twitter, facebook, email functioning but no one to talk to. Isolated. So what is it we are truly after? Is it a working wifi connection or a working connection to ourselves?

Maybe in the moments when technology bogs up or phones don't ring is our chance, a little space to listen to ourselves...our heart, our soul, our bodies. Yoga does this for me, for you it could be taking a nap or running a few miles or creating art.  It is the time we turn inside and just listen. Maybe what we hear sounds sweet, maybe bitter. It does not really matter. What matters is the listening.  In listening we connect.  We connect to ourselves, our own inner voice, guidance, wisdom. We connect to our knowingness.  It's not about whether it's good or bad, light or dark, happy or sad...it's about that we pay attention and answer our spirit's call to connect.  Just like us, our spirit is hanging out saying "connect, connect, connect" and all we need to do is put up a little signal saying, "I'm here".  Then as we listen, we learn, we know better. When we know better we offer a more pure version of ourselves in everything we do. It's not whether we behave or get in trouble. It's not whether we feel tired or invigorated. It's not whether we are happy or totally pissed.  It's about just taking the time to listen and be here, to be our own best friend, to be our connection. And through that connection comes the life, the inspiration and the strength to guide us to and through every other connection we make.

Listen to your spirit. Grant it's wish. Connect, connect, connect.