Is Connectedness a word?

Have you ever thought about how amazing it is that we share so much in common?  Think about it, we have more in common than we don't. I am connected to you and you are connected to me. We are connected to the plants and they are connected to us.  We are connected to our tribes, animals are connected to their packs. We rely on each other, we rely on the earth, the animals, the water, the weather patterns in ways that go deeper than we could ever imagine.

One of my all-time-favorite ways to think about the people in our lives and our effects on each other is summed up in Laura Schroff's writing:

An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break. May you be open to each thread that comes into your life - the golden ones and the coarse ones - and may you weave them into a brilliant and beautiful life.

Those connections and threads are precious. Our lesson is to never take them or the people attached to them for granted. Isn't it cool that the threads never break? Our attachments with anyone to us change frequently, becoming more or less intense at different points in our lives. Like nature, when treated well, those connections will always be there.

When we are in nature, we realize how much we are a part of a whole.   There will never be another someone like us in all of creation. Our contribution to the "whole" is our gift.  Our obligation is to use our gift for a greater good. A tree cannot grow in a grove and say, "I do not feel like or want to provide shade today."  That is its gift, to cool and shade the plants and living creatures that can take refuge in it.  Unfortunately, humans when isolating themselves can say, "I do not feel like or want to share my presence, voice, talent, smile, compassion", whatever it may be, with others and the connections dim.  Those living fully, risking their efforts not being reciprocated, having the courage to do the things they can even when they don't want to, overcoming fears, are the ones who feel the connections and experience life as a part of the whole. Their energy is complete and full and their presence strong. They are relevant and contributing to the world, keeping the cycles in place, flowing and uninterrupted.  LIVING.

I love the way Einstein sums it up and tells us how it really is:

• A human being is a part of a whole, the universe.
• Humans tend to isolate and separate, living in prisons of personal desire and closed circles.
• To escape, we must widen our circle of compassion. Embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature.
• Get out of ourselves and into the whole of the world.
• Connectedness and compassion fuel each other.
• We get trapped in our "ME" mindset. Nature sets us free. Rules are broken because sometimes nature is greater than us and has lessons to teach us.

I love Einstein. It was no surprise that he had something to say on this part of our human experience. Those who contemplate their WHY and strive to live according to their purpose will all eventually come to the same questions and revelations. What have we been put here for and how do we fulfill that role?

In the end, we all come into this world alone and we leave alone.  It is a thought no one likes to process. Yet, while we are surrounded by others, we unfortunately do isolate ourselves and our connections are fragile. Living a robust life, with love and compassion is the one thing that can make our presence on earth worthwhile. Connectedness. It's a good word.