The Importance of Connecting Our Journeys

How many times have we read about someone who committed suicide and the family and friends said if they had only known the person was struggling they would have taken extra steps to be there and engage with the person, and somehow to help.   That raises the age-old question -- do you ever really know someone, know what is in their heart?  We may not really know what is in someone's heart, but we should take the time to really know someone as best we can, and to try to understand their thoughts, feelings, and points of view.

Personal relationships have great importance as we go through our journeys.  It's something that is difficult to measure, as it impacts both sides of the relationship, and can be very subtle.  They are MEANINGFUL.  Many have written about searching for meaning, why not start with the person right next to you.  You can create meaning by being meaningful to someone.

My challenge for you today -- reach out to someone and do something small but meaningful.  It might be a light touch on the arm, asking how they are doing and really listening for some keywords in their answer to spark a conversation; whatever it is, make it personal, they need to know and feel the connection.  You'll be surprised how good it makes YOU feel as well.  Let's travel together.

What's your life pulse? Thinking from the heart will find it.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

When we read these powerful words, and remember how they were so beautifully set to music by Seeger and others, we often think of the passing time of our lives -- a time to be born, to die, to build up, to break down, to laugh, to weep, to mourn, to dance, and other phases and transitions we experience.

Today I challenge you to think of these phases and transitions from inside your heart, not what is going on around you and about you.  If we think from inside our hearts, we lose the concept of past and future and focus intently on the here and now.  Our hearts are very intune to the present.  We use the word 'pulse' to describe the frequency of our heart beats, and the rhythm and speed of our pulse signals us to how we are feeling and experiencing life at the present moment.

Rhythms are found everywhere, most noticeably with a tide or a river.  The rhythm of water is said to "flow".  Our blood is also said to "flow" -- doctors say that our blood flows through the heart and the body.

Thinking from the heart causes us to really experience and feel the present moment, and to realize how precious each heartbeat is, how defined and exact and purposeful it is right this minute, and what a great mystery the future is.