I’m not sure what it is about yin yoga where suddenly I get all these ideas in my head about blog posts. Last week’s theme was connection. The teacher shared a story about how she is close with her neighbors and it is such a blessing.
I grew up on a dead end street for most of my life. The first 7 years I was in a downtown area, third floor of the apartment building my dad owns. Then we moved to a house. On this street we had many friendly neighbors. We had block parties in the summer, which my family and I eventually took over the planning. The block parties were a great way to all get together, share food and have games with the kids. Actually since I moved in 2014 there hasn’t been a block party…I hope someday someone takes over the planning again.
As my yoga teacher talked about her story growing up with friendly neighbors, I remembered how lucky I was to grow up where I did. I loved having neighbors who took care of our cats when we were out of town, let my dad borrow their car when he suddenly had a flat tire and my sister needed to go to an ice skating lesson, kept a spare set of keys in case we were ever locked out and also just showed they cared.
I loved when it was spring and summer and kids would be playing in the street (dead end so usually safe) and neighbors would be out gardening. I actually learned to ride a two wheeler bike in those streets and I remember asking my dad how would I have learned had we still lived in our apartment? I couldn’t ride in that street as it was busy and the sidewalk was uneven so it just seemed like it would be harder. He assured me we would have found a way but I am still thankful we moved when I turned 7 to learn.
As kids, my best friend and I would run through the neighbors yards and try to hide from the boys on our street. Especially when they had water guns. Only some of our neighbors had fences so we were able to run through the bushes to other yards.
Times now are so different. We are constantly glued to our computers, checking Facebook or other forms of social media. Some kids have cell phones by the time they are in Kindergarten. In some ways the cell phones are for our safety because we are constantly worried about something happening, which is unfortunate as well.
Don’t get me wrong, I love social media. I love the people I get to connect to because I have found people with like minded interests and sometimes that is hard in the area that you live. It is harder to make friends as you get older. It is also harder to make friends when you move to 3 different states in the span of 5 years. I love that Facebook keeps me connected to people I have met. That way, in case I lose their phone number or their number changes, I have a way of reaching out.
However, it is important to have those in person connections. It is important to step away from our electronics and have experiences in real life.
When I was traveling and had limited wifi, I enjoyed it. I was able to soak up the experiences and be in the moment.
I guess what I am saying is, don’t forget to step away from your electronics from time to time and have a conversation with someone on the street, in the gym or in your office. Take time to meet up with a friend for coffee or something and put away your phones. You never know when you can make someone’s day, simply by saying hi to them.
Thanks Amanda for thinking out loud.
Thoughts on Connection with others?
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