Our kids had never been higher.
10,428 feet above sea level to be exact. My heart soared drinking in the view of our boys traversing a trail against a backdrop of Utah's Wasatch Mountains. Joy.
I lost my dad in 2016 and my mom in 2018. In 2017 I had an anterior cervical (neck) discectomy and fusion and two years later it was back under the knife for a back discectomy and laminectomy. Yuck.
Eighteen months of three ibuprofen every six hours helped some and then eventually hurt as I developed ulcers. And then the pandemic. Ughh.
But this past Thanksgiving, a couple of years of tough sledding all but disappeared as I watched our two boys find their lines down their first bowl, I felt deeply connected to them, to their mother, and to the universe.
Connection is everything.
In comparison to other animals, early humans were physically slow and weak. They could not survive based on their speed, jaws, and claws. They survived only through social cooperation and the rapid adaptation that cooperation allowed.
Going it alone wasn't an option.
On the African savannah 100,000 years ago, you either connected to the tribe or you perished alone.
It's still true today. Not literally perhaps but we are still at our core inherently social creatures.
Maya Angelou, please help me elevate and make the case:
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone
-Maya Angelou "Alone"
I love time alone and I believe in the power of the individual, and...that a single person can make all the difference. But for me, it's also true that the reason we are here...you know, here on the planet, is to connect with others to do good work.
Brene Brown defines connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship. That kind of connection requires deep understanding and deep understanding requires effective communication.
But not any communication. We need communication that hits the solar plexus like Luke Skywalker's proton torpedo hit the Death Star.
We need communication that people can feel in their gut and on the backs of their necks. Now more than ever we need communication that connects us and drives deeper understanding.
Omicron rages, the virus isolates. We can do this. We can do this, TOGETHER. Endure, maintain and prevail!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and see you in the New Year.
Peace and Health, Dan