My #1 Lesson for 2018

My plan was to write a post with a list of lessons I’ve learned in 2018. Something like, “The Crone’s 12 Lessons for 2018”, meant as a series of highlights from my blog. But as I started reviewing all my posts from the past year a larger lesson became clear.

I write about human nature and the wisdom acquired from the interactions I have as I go about my life. There is much to learn from my fellow man/woman and I have found that when my curious soul meets up with another willing human soul, serendipitous magic usually occurs.

There in lies my #1 lesson for 2018.

It is the willingness to connect with others in non-judgement that the richness of life is propagated. But to experience this concept at it’s most fertile, there needs to be face to face interaction.

This is a cautionary lesson as well because, as a modern society, we are having less and less real contact with each other. Sure technology has made it easy for us to relay messages in the beat of a heart through phone, text and social media, but this kind of connection is flat at best.

Humans need to communicate with emotion in order for our true intentions to be seen. Why else do we feel the need to use facial expression emoji’s to portray the real meaning of our electronic communications. It was less than 20 years ago that the first emoji was created, only two years after texting became available.

But what is missing from this modern form of communication and that can never be duplicated is the co-mingling of personal energies that a real face to face conversation can have.

Human connection took a very personal turn for me this year. A huge blessing that cemented this lesson like no other way could. I became a Grandmother.

If you want to know the most authentic feeling of connection to another human, spend time with an infant. This is human connection at its simplest, most fragile form. A new born is hardwired to bond with it’s care givers. At first they rely on nature to create this connection until the threads of love can bind tightly. It is only with eye contact, touch and the soothing sounds of comfort that a child learns to connect with other human beings. There are no words at first to communicate an infants needs. No hand gestures to point out their desires, yet a baby quickly learns the language of love and protection.

There were many smaller lessons this year. Many pieces of wisdom gleamed from life. Yet none as powerful as the need for human connection.

Never before, have we as a species, been so connected by technology to a vast storehouse of knowledge and information. We can see a disaster happen within an instant half way across the world. We can video link to someone thousands of miles away at the push of a button. We can voice our displeasure in a paragraph on a social media platform with nimble fingers on our smartphones. But in order to stay as a caring, compassionate race, we must know the emotional depth of face to face human connection and this is the a skill I fear we are losing.

This is the most important lesson I learned this year – the need for real life human connection. A skill practised locally, in our homes and in our communities. The ancient art of kindred communication. The act of being seem and understood by another soul. The comfort of being part of the collective consciousness and to just belong to the human race.

So as you go about the final days of 2018, think about the part you play in your family and community. Are you involved on a emotional and physical level with all the risk and reward that entails? Do you hang out on the side lines of the game of life, jabbing your lance of words at the players only to quickly retreat behind the screen of technology. Or do you wade into the milieu, fully prepared for a few bumps and bruises but also ready for the rich enjoyment of the victory dance that can be created only with the human connection of shared interaction and contribution.

Make it a regular practice to share a hand shake or hug a stranger. Better yet, hug a loved one. Look into another souls eyes and really see them for who they are – another manifestation of love, just like you. Make more connections face to face with a smile and a laugh. It may not solve the strife of the world, but it will create a moment of peace between you and another human soul. Then you too with have embraced my #1 lesson of 2018 and we both will have contributed to the world wide human connection.