The Power of Connection

It has been four years since my last blog post. Over those years, we've had a world pandemic, for which the precursor in my corner of the world was so much snow that we called it Snowmageddon and a state of emergency was declared. I've completed all of my courses and internship for a master's degree in Counselling Psychology. I schooled my youngest from home. We completed many renovations in our home. I had a full-time job for one and a half years. Two beautiful grandchildren were born. I lived with my daughter for a month and helped care for an infant and 18 month old. I travelled internationally, nationally, and provincially. And I reignited my business. I also had to manage ups and downs of my own health and well-being (depression and burn-out seem to follow me, and chronic pain seems to worsen - something I'm sure I'll talk about in this blog 😣), my oldest daughter was sick for a period of time, my youngest daughter was bullied and then diagnosed with ADHD, and my parents are aging and there are ups and downs with that. I've had friendships end and friendships revived. I've made new friends, and I realized some people I thought were friends are not. I haven't always done or said the right things. But I've always done my best to learn and grow. 

If you are Catholic, you may think this sounds like a confession! Lol!

It's not.

Through it all, I stopped blogging. I wasn't getting consistent readership of my blogs and thought it was a waste of time. 

I was wrong. I feel a lingering sense of disconnection. My underlying creativity has been replaced by logical and practical activities, which are also important... but, like many women at this age, I'm off kilter (out of balance).

Blogging was more than something I did for my business. In fact, I started blogging when I was sharing my travel stories (Snippets of Singapore)... and I had a blog when I returned to school (The 47 Year Old Student)... they had nothing to do with business. It was a way for me to express. Be creative. Share my thoughts and stories. Connect with people. Even when it was business related. So in this chapter of my life, I'm here again. Let's see where it takes us.

My graduate thesis is about the mental health of peri-menopausal women. I chose that topic because of my own lived experiences. I speak about menopause a lot in my day to day life and hope to contribute to normalizing the conversation. I'm post menopausal now, and I'm a bit obsessed with this chapter in my life. I read a lot about this time of a woman's life for my research but also for my own interest. I even started facilitating women's circles last Fall. It seems to impact many women in similar ways. It's an empowering time. We have a deep desire to have our voices heard. We want to break free from the bounds society and the patriarchy have placed on us. And we give many less f**ks about what people think. I personally also swear a lot more.

Last weekend, I was reading about being a wild woman. Among many good ideas, the book talked about the importance of connecting with strangers. Funnily, as I was reading this, I was relaxing in my car in THE most peaceful place on earth, surrounded by trees, listening to the birds chirp, and watching a large, beautiful river flow freely.... and a woman walked up to my car. I decided to put into practice what I was reading and had such a wonderful chat with this stranger. It was uplifting. She and I laughed and talked like we were friends. We connected.

Connection is incredibly important for our well-being. Society as a whole has lost the practice and skill, though. There are small rural places in my province of Newfoundland and Labrador that still have it. It's one of the reasons people love to visit here. But, I don't always have it. It's something I work on. I'm more on the quiet side... sometimes very private. Yet, when I do talk to strangers, something magical often happens. And I feel it in my core. It's why it's so important. Loneliness can have negative consequences on our well-being. We may become depressed. Lethargic. Anxious. And it can also impact us physiologically. Connection is an antidote to that.

The book I was reading also addressed the need to be creative and share our stories. I know this from experience and other learnings. However, I still oscillate in the practice. After some reflection, and an ah-ha moment.... I decided to return to blogging. Return to my writing. Return to sharing. Maybe one person will be uplifted or positively impacted in some way by something I share. Or maybe someone will feel a little more connected by reading. Or maybe after reading this post, you will go out and talk to a stranger and feel that power, that energy, that is cultivated by this practice. Or maybe you won't ever ready my blog again! Lol! Either way, I'm putting some of my story out to the world. Because it feels right. And there is a chance it will positively impact someone else.

So it's been four years since my last blog post. I hope it won't be four years for the next one. And I hope if you've read this, you will go out and smile at, perhaps even chat with, a stranger.

Tina 💜