"Only connect..." ~E. M. Forster

So the past 2 weeks I've thought a lot about how I connect with others. At times I have found that I'm not really present when interacting with friends, family, coworkers etc...I find myself going through the motions with my mind in other places, or going down my to do list, or planning my next road trip etc.

As this weighed on my mind more and more I thought about people who have wandered in my life and have wandered out for whatever reason...and I felt this sense of loss. I possibly missed out on my chance to really have a meaningful experience with them.

Which made me think about life..one thing that I feel brings lasting joy in this life is the relationships and connections we make with others. I interact with a ton of different people daily...and granted not all of those interactions will be full of joy and actually some of them might be downright difficult or annoying...but there are a lot that aren't.

Am I even fully present in the moment to determine what kind of experience it is?

There are 100 and 1 small moments that happen throughout my day...

Theres bound to be some joy in a couple of those moments right?

But if I'm future tripping or list checking or off on a beach in my head...I've missed out.

So these last 2 weeks I've really focused on staying present and engaged and ...what do you know...

found me some joy.

I played 31 with a coworker and kicked his trash..I danced and sang with my brothers to some Janet Jackson (I really need to learn the Miss U Much dance routine..that would up my joy exponentially)...had lunch with a wonderful friend...played catch with a great dog...memorized my favorite song and played it on my uke for a friend...played with my beautiful niece...hung out with my family...rocked out to a middle school band with coworkers...talked with different clients...had a ton of great conversations...got some great advice from someone I consider to be a mentor...took a walk with a friend...bowled a 77 and got schooled by some of my amazing staff... and the list goes on and on.

Only connect y'all...that's what its about.