My grandmother used to tell me that the greatest fear that children harbor is the fear of disappearing. Making simple human connections during the day to day things that we do can be a challenge. Jacqueline Novogratz speaks of a "life of immersion" in her TED presentation:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jacqueline_novogratz_inspiring_a_life_of_immersion.html
Jacqueline left a job on Wall Street to live a life of immersion. She speaks of people who have taken risks in the name of impacting the world in positive ways - some have lost their lives - have risked it all for a life of immersion. I love her story of the Blue Sweater:
http://www.acumenfund.org/bluesweater/
People operate under the misguided impression that there are measurable distances between "us" and "them", when the truth is there is no "us" and "them" - there is only us. When we fail to see and connect with others, we miss opportunities to celebrate us, and to change the world one relationship at a time. Immersion may be as simple as engaging in your community, in your work place. Celebrating the people who serve you - thanking the check-out person; recognizing the contribution of the person who serves as a crossing guard for our children; complimenting someone on their thoughtfulness, complimenting someone on their act of kindness - every day holds a myriad of opportunities to immerse yourself more fully in your community and bring a deeper meaning to your life. Try it - It's life changing!
No comments:
Post a Comment