connection

Often we seek out support in various forms. If we are really self-aware and willing to be vulnerable we will even ask for the help we need.

We strive for connection, to be understood, to be told “no, you’re not crazy.”

Sometimes support and encouragement, validation and assistance, comes from the least expected corners.

It is the long-lost buddy sending a simple hello.
It is the random FB acquaintance donating to a campaign.
It is the former coworker encouraging travel with her ideas and example.
It is the long conversation that reaches into realms of intimacy and self-discovery that had long been missing.
It is the smile and compliment of a stranger.
It is the accountability partner asking for advice and help.
It is the comment on the blog saying our words have resonance.
It is the impressed words of a coach and mentor.
It is that article from Twitter that seems to speak to our soul.
It is the deadline and expectations of someone we respect.
It is the friend saying “no” when I really want a bite of his gelato – his way of supporting my goals.

It is the reminders that there is more in life and it is not only ok, but absolutely right to reach for it.

It is even easy to get wrapped in the minutia of life and fixate on what we don’t have. It is even easier to let the perceived ignoring and judgement of others hold too much sway in our lives — preventing us from pursuing our dreams.

It can be lonely out there. Yet, if we allow ourselves to look for the good and tune into it, we can also see just-as-little signs that we are “daring greatly” and on the right path. These little glimmers of affirmation, of promise, of hope, can be the support we didn’t know we needed.

My friend Dani has shared wonderful prose recently about knowing yourself and chasing your desires. When we are daring and brave enough to start following those passions that feed us, working to create the life that we want for ourselves, we need all the help we can get.

We find for ourselves the inspiration and the information. These little-big moments of support we can choose to intentionally enjoy and can keep us going.

The important part is to take the small kudos and affirmations and not just rest upon them or fixate on getting more of them, but use them to spur us onward towards our true goals. The Universe, via the people around us, provides these successes not as stopping points, but breaths of renewed energy to fuel our progress.

Clasp tightly, be IN your journey and continue chasing down your dreams.

Sempre Avanti,
Jo

PS If my words today spoke to you would you do me a solid and buy me a virtual beer visa-vis my Pencils of Promise campaign? See, I needed to write this to myself as I am nearing the end of my Abs Challenge. I’ve often felt crazy for doing it and, while I am close to success on the abs front, the fundraising has fallen short of my expectations. I’m bucking myself up for a renewed push and a little show of support by helping some kids in need — would go a long way.

PPS Did you know I write other places? Check out my newest Versaletter, this one from Vienna, or my Hack Library School post on switching my degree program to a Masters of Information Technology.

In this episode, Jo looks at the power of story, why she got into the blogging arena, what she has learned over the past year and the life changing effects that engaging in online communities can have. This program has been rated “L” for “Long” — but worth it.

Blogs are my reality shows.

I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

I don’t read to observe a train wreck. I read to feel more human and connected to amazing people who inspire and inform and mostly, like great satiric writers, comics and even the jesters of yore, make us laugh at the truth of life.

Blogs give us little slices of life that make us understand, appreciate and know another part of the world and another person.

Like reality tv, blogs throw the doors wide open on someone else’s life — or at least it seems wide open. We know that part of it is persona and a great deal is crafted carefully: dramatized and parsed down to the essential bits to make it more entertaining and have more impact. But it doesn’t remain any less true.

I saw a Ken Burns piece the other day on brainpickings where he says his stories are manipulations at the same time that they are true. We love stories that make us feel. We love stories of transformation. We crave these stories.

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