Motivation to Connect

What is our motivation to connect? Connect with what you ask? Connect with other people. I think our motivation to connect with others is inborn. I think we have this gift at birth to connect with other human beings. When humans are born, they cannot survive without connecting to another or they will not survive or thrive. With this gift in mind I also see people around me negating this gift, this motivation to survive through the connection with other people. Yesterday I was having breakfast with my husband in a restaurant on Sunday morning. Seated across the aisle from us were a man and his daughter (I assume.) The man looked to be in his thirties and the girl was around ten years old. They placed their order with the server then the man opened his blackberry or cell phone and started pushing the buttons. They probably sat there for 10-15 minutes waiting for their order and all the while he was engrossed in his tech device. The girl sat across from him politely looking his way. She got up once and headed toward the kitchen to check on what was happening, then came back and sat down. The man looked oblivious. He was engrossed in his “stuff”. When the order came they split the order and ate without much conversation. They both looked satisfied and happy.

It is none of my business but I felt mad. I wanted to go over to the man and say, “Look, someone is with you here and now!” The girl was very polite, and well mannered. If she had been acting out in some way, would she have been given more attention?
Is that the kind of people we want to succeed in today’s world? People that get attention any way they can.

I would like to offer a suggestion. Be motivated to see the people around you and connect. Really connect with them. Give them eye contact and let them know you acknowledge their amazing presence in your life. Give a nod and a smile if no words are there. Let them be invited to join you in your journey here on this planet. We are here for a limited time and we must be respectful of the gift we have to connect with others who are in our surrounding space. Take time to share moments that will never come again.

I have a soft spot in my heart for young people. (I was once a young person too.) We all desire love and acceptance. If we can provide that, we must.
I can remember family members and extended family members and friends who provided models for pure acceptance and gave of themselves numerous times when others were not “available” when I grew up. What a difference that made in my life and in their lives. I felt touched and enriched by very special people. I will never forget the inner feeling of warmth and caring that I can call upon anytime when I take the time to remember those people and the events in my life that made them so special. I think part of what made it so special was that they were giving of themselves and giving their time when others could not. Can you remember these times and call upon them when needed? Can you provide these times for others around you? I think we have to try. I think we have to step back and see the long-range view. If we cannot provide those moments for others who will?