My work in CONNECTIONS has provided great emotional rewards. Each gathering expands my personal relationships and gives me a cleaner window into understanding how people handle this whole aging thing.
If someone volunteers to tell a story about themselves, it generally begins with the facts that flow easily: information about education, jobs, children, hometown and on and on. I enjoy hearing it all. However, the real connections come when people go a little deeper, sharing their beliefs and feelings that bring vivid color to their information line.
I never want to pry. However, I do wish to be an active listener. It opens up new ways of understanding the me I hide from time to time. CONNECTIONS is teaching me that we all have much in common. I need not feel loneliness or hang on to guilt from past behaviors. I’m beginning to recognize my most joyous and worthy moments have always been attached to the stories of other people.
CONNECTIONS