Connection - the Power of "And"

Today's post is all about connection. I'm sitting here in Mystic, CT, on vacation with the boys and dog, and marveling that even in this tiny burg, I'm able to connect to the world wide web and be instantly connected to my mail, my Blog, and many of you. As I mused a bit more about this, it became apparent that not only is our ability to connect important, but just like Wi-Fi signals, it is equally (if not more) important how strong are our connections to each other.

Lack of connection leads to all sorts of physical and social ills. Wars start and continue due to a lack of connection and understanding between peoples. In the Church, sometimes very slight theological differences of opinion lead to major schisms. Lack of connection leads to lonliness, isolation, depression and a lack of meaning in life. We are created to be connectional - to be in relationship with each other. Even when the relationship is bad (think domestic or other types of abuse) people will hang together hoping that everything will turn out better - or that by staying it won't get worse.

The sermon yesterday was about the power of the word "and". "And" is found 70 times in the first six verses of the book of Genesis. God created night and day, moon and sun, etc. Things that were created early were seemingly opposite (as opposite as night and day) yet connected - one can not exist without the other. Nothing can be complete without the other side - whether it is a coin, or a debate, or a personal interaction.

It is important (possibly critical) for our health, wellness and wholeness (HW2) that we pay attention to this need for connection with opposites. When we forget to completely include all of life, the good and the bad, we lose much of the potential for meaning and for growth of wisdom. Spiritual or faith communities that lack diversity of worship style or opinion, or congregants, find themselves slowly dwindling and dying. It is through our diversity that we become stronger. Think about the diversity of persons that created this country some 230+ years ago. Strength came from many viewpoints, but focus on a common goal.

HW2 comes from the same position or philosophy. Exploration of our spiritual side leads us to a more complete view of both ourselves and our world. It keeps us from being so isolated, and thus prone to relying only on our own counsel. Since we can never individually comprehend all that we need to know to be HW2, we greatly need others to help us along the way. That's what Possibilities Journey, Inc., (www.possjrny.org) is all about - strengthening connections to lead us all to HW2.

Peace,
Dan