Connection

Connection ?????????????????????????? by Paul Randall Camp

Connection is a very elastic word, eh?

A connection can certainly be the adjoining of two inanimate physical objects like Lego pieces.? This type of attachment is of the physical engineering variety.? I will invite the engineers of the world to expound on this vein.? Rather, it is the connection made between two people or within a group of people that is endlessly fascinating to me and a far more tantalizingly area ripe for deep exploration. ?

People seek connection for a variety of reasons –

1)????? to attain business ends,

2)????? to seek emotional and/or physical comfort,

3)????? to seek consensus,

4)????? to get to another place,

5)????? to solicit a response from their audience, a call to arms and

6)????? to share a story with the world at large, with the hope that the story moves people to think or act or both.

And perhaps 10,000 other reasons.

So, connection can arise from emotional, physical and/or intellectual attraction.? An intermediary connection might serve as a conduit to a larger purpose.? Simply seeing someone across a room, or certainly upon meeting them, presents an opportunity for meaningful versus fleeting connection.? Connections have a shelf life.? Connections can be fleeting and forgotten.? Or, connections can create a Kodak Moment providing a lifetime annuity benefit return.?

One never knows, until you know.

For me, there are three truths I hold dear on the subject of connection and provide my answer as to why connection is vitally important:?

1)????? Relevant connection should receive constant contact, nurturing and sustainment in order to bear bountiful fruit.? You have to work hard at staying connected.

2)????? I love connecting with people because I am curious about others, their motivations, their goals, their passions and their struggles.? It’s a source of endless fascination for me, a source of flow.

3)????? I have an enduring image that instantly conjures up when I hear the word ‘connection.’? I see the Rolling Stones onstage at New York’s Beacon Theatre with Keith Richards up front singing lead on the song, “Connection.”? Keith Richards, when asked the question of who is the best guitarist, him or bandmate Ronnie Wood answered – “I know the truth.? We’re both pretty lousy, but together we’re better than 10 others.”

In the end, connection is just another feeling, a way to get back to you, so that together we might flourish.