The Antidote of Connection

The darkest days make the light seem invisible.

Last Friday held that kind of darkness. The world felt the shivers of yet another horrific act of violence – news of the targeted New Zealand mosques shot through our screens and hearts.

During an interview with a dear friend for this blog, my soul was soothed as we spoke about connection as an antidote to hatred. In particular, we discussed the power of storytelling as a way to humanize, relate and hopefully understand one another.

As fate would have it, the recording of the interview was a complete failure. I am grateful for the timing of our conversation as it truly helped me fuel the light of hope. I am disappointed, however, not to be able to share it with you today, and I look forward to sharing her story another time.

Nonetheless, I hope to encourage the same sense of connection. In a world that can seem so broken, it is easy to minimize the power of a smile, ignore the power of a kind word, and turn away from a chance to get to know someone who is different than you.

Let’s invite the opposite to be true. Let’s open our hearts to connection in unexpected places, and create spaces to encourage it. Let’s turn the “other” into extended family who we just haven’t had the opportunity to get to know yet. Let’s share our stories, and more importantly, listen.

We are all living in one world. Let’s create the world we want it to be.

How are you creating connection?

Want to make a little difference in the lives of the NZD victim’s families? Check out: United for Christchurch Mosque Shootings.