Taking the Time to Connect
Gathering. Being interwoven. Falling together. Standing back up again. Unity. These are phrases and words that flood my mind when I think about the world. About who we're called to be and how we aren't called to go it alone. Inspired by this ulla johnson dress, I illustrated all the threads that make a garment whole.
It reminds me that every fiber of a soul makes an actual, living, breathing, breathtaking person. An each unique person comes together to form a beautiful world.
Have you ever just stopped and looked around you? Stood in a park that's set in the center of a bustling city, or maybe on a bench near the bathroom of a Walmart and just watched every one moving around? Have you ever just stopped, taken the time to sit back and watch the faces of the people around you as they pass by? That glance, that tiny bit of eye contact that you made with the five foot tall woman with the tousled hair and sad brown eyes that may be the only moment you have to take a glance at her? To look past her outer shell and see a soul? You may never have the opportunity to see her again, and yet if you don't take the time to actually see them, instead of a blurred person out of your peripheral vision as you put on a poker face and weave through carts and bodies to check items off your list you may have just missed an opportunity to see a soul. To really, truly see a soul. To not just come in contact with an individual, but to connect with them.
The truth is we're busy people living busy lives as we busily stumble, run, rush, walk, dance through moments that were made for more than just ourselves. But the truth is we're selfish. Deep down, we're impatiently waiting in the grocery store line that's going way too slow, and the person in front of you is buying an array of items that include, but are not limited to socks and milk, and you keep checking your phone like you have somewhere more important to be than where you are right now. Because cashiers aren't worth your time and you can barely manage a smile since you're too caught up in where you're going to be next. Because you know more than the cashier who is questioning your selection of items that apparently don't coincide with the booklet that dictates what you can receive on a check. Because they're asking about when you're due to have a baby and they start telling you about how they had the same midwife you have. Because you just want to leave and they're stopping that. Because they want to connect and you don't.
That's the reality, but the other part of the reality is that you always have a choice. To walk past the person or to smile at them. To ignore what someone says or share a part of your story. To stand back and be guarded or to intertwine two polar opposites into one of the same.
I hope you choose to connect. To not just look past people or judge them based on their appearance. I get it, we've all been there, but we don't have to keep being there. Life is all about moving forward. About progressing, and letting go of the past that we no longer can control because it isn't tangible. Our actions predict our future. Our character defines who we are. You can thread your life into something truly great because of the consistent, tiny amounts of effort you put in daily. But it all comes down to one question, are you willing?
It reminds me that every fiber of a soul makes an actual, living, breathing, breathtaking person. An each unique person comes together to form a beautiful world.
Have you ever just stopped and looked around you? Stood in a park that's set in the center of a bustling city, or maybe on a bench near the bathroom of a Walmart and just watched every one moving around? Have you ever just stopped, taken the time to sit back and watch the faces of the people around you as they pass by? That glance, that tiny bit of eye contact that you made with the five foot tall woman with the tousled hair and sad brown eyes that may be the only moment you have to take a glance at her? To look past her outer shell and see a soul? You may never have the opportunity to see her again, and yet if you don't take the time to actually see them, instead of a blurred person out of your peripheral vision as you put on a poker face and weave through carts and bodies to check items off your list you may have just missed an opportunity to see a soul. To really, truly see a soul. To not just come in contact with an individual, but to connect with them.
That's the reality, but the other part of the reality is that you always have a choice. To walk past the person or to smile at them. To ignore what someone says or share a part of your story. To stand back and be guarded or to intertwine two polar opposites into one of the same.
I hope you choose to connect. To not just look past people or judge them based on their appearance. I get it, we've all been there, but we don't have to keep being there. Life is all about moving forward. About progressing, and letting go of the past that we no longer can control because it isn't tangible. Our actions predict our future. Our character defines who we are. You can thread your life into something truly great because of the consistent, tiny amounts of effort you put in daily. But it all comes down to one question, are you willing?
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