Connecting - Honestly!

How do you feel when someone, anyone, rushes past you saying "Hi, how are you? Nice day isn't it?" Or when a cashier never takes 5 seconds to look you in the eyes, particularly if she's continuously talking with the adjacent cashier about when her break is?

A sense of connectedness seems like a very basic human need doesn't it? Many of us try to achieve this in dysfunctional ways by being addicted to various electronic gadgets. I say dysfunctional, because recent studies have shown that many young folks "feel uncomfortable" speaking face-to-face, even with their friends!

In a recent excellent talk, Sylvia Boorstein stated that "The universal language for 'let's connect' is 'I'm not alright.'" Honestly answering the question "How are you?", when someone cares enough to wait & listen to the answer, is the start of an honest connection.