Connection is not just for Christmas

I took myself off to my local coffee shop last week (WFH has its limits in the dark days of December). I plugged my laptop in to do a bit of work but found myself observing all that was going on:

At one table were a group of 4 elderly gentlemen, discussing the news events of the day. At another were a group of intellectually and physically disabled adults with their care assistants having great fun and a great chat. The waiter greeted them by name and brought a bowl of water for a guide dog. As I was leaving, a group of young mums were arriving with buggies and babies for their regular 'get together' (they all looked exhausted!).

It got me thinking about connection. Building it. Keeping it. Recognising the value of it. There are meeting places like my local café in every country, every town and every village. A cup of coffee can stretch for a morning in a place that's warm and welcoming when you're lonely. A smile and a chat in a local pub or restaurant might be the highlight of somebody's day, or somebody's week. Greeting you by your name in your local corner shop can be like winning the Lottery.

Christmas time is a focus on spending time and fostering connection with our loved ones. What about connection to our community, to our sense of ourselves?

In our 'Christmas rush', remember the places that provide that smile, that welcome, that greeting to us in our community for the other 51 weeks of the year. That means more than any measurement of GDP ever will. By showing our support, we're saying that connection and community is not just for Christmas.

Let 2024 be a year of increased human connection.