Connection

Connection

Wow, that word – my word for 2022 – already took me on a rollercoaster ride, and we have only (already?) April. I started to sit and write about that one many times, but it never felt right. So perhaps this here will be the time when it does. Yes, let’s see what “connection” means and where it will lead me this year.

As a word for the year, “connection” came to me in early December. Back then, I missed connecting to friends and family near and far. I noticed that with Covid and all, I had blocked myself quite a bit and even though I do not need many people, I had too few around me. So, I had that in mind to focus on as the new year started; increasing my connection and reaching out to others. Little did I know then that this would result in a much deeper soul searching process.

When January came along and I started to draft this blog, I looked for definitions on connections. It took a while to find one that spoke to me. Because the connection I was looking for the most was deeper. No, let’s scrap that. I was initially not even looking for that deep one. Truth is, I realised early that I needed to go to that deeper connection before anything else. And that, my dear reader, was the connection to myself. I thought I had it, but no, it wasn’t the way I needed it .

As I sat down and doodled, mind mapped and drafted, I realised how many different facets my “connection” has.

Yes, I need to connect to myself first and foremost. That can and does come in many different ways. For me, that can be through sports, creativity, me-time, reading, meditation, self-reflection…anything that indeed nurtures me.
Then, there is the connection to my surrounding. How do I connect to the home I live in, the neighbourhood, city, country, nature, and culture? What steps can and do I want to take to feel a deeper connection?
And last but not least, the connection to others. Reconnecting to friends, creating new connections, and connecting to my family and other communities, networks, and tribes.

How and where can I connect with others and at the same time feel more connected to myself and the country I live in?

As you can see – “connection” sounded like an easy, straightforward word, but geeh, that one has me this year! Thankfully only the first quarter is over, so it’s still time to embrace it more!

But coming back to the definition. If you go for a straightforward one, then the Cambridge Dictionary has it clearly defined as “the state of being related, to someone or something […] a relationship in which a person or things is linked or associated with something else.” Seeing I was in for a deeper meaning, I liked the following. It’s a connection-in-life definition “[…] being fully aware of your here-and-now experience. Fully in touch with what is happening at the moment. […] we pull ourselves out of the past or future and bring ourselves back to the present.” (physiology today). The latter speaks to me deeply.

And my definition of “connection” for 2022? I think it might come towards the end of the year. It’s going in so many directions at the moment, and all are equally important to me. I don’t know what the year still holds for me, but I definitely found one of the most profound connections so far during my workshop with Points of You® just recently, in March. That one had been in the planning for months, and of course, I was excited to go and meet people I had only met online, and I was eager to meet new ones. But, wow, little did I know how much I needed those days – in every respect. During those precious days, I found a genuine connection to myself.

Yes, I found many missing links and broke some non-serving links simultaneously. Being in a small group setting, I connected with 12 participants from 11 different nationalities – you can only imagine! My eyes were shining like those of a child in a candy shop. While I had been excited for months, I only realised by being there how much I as well needed those days for myself. How much I “just functioned” but missed the real connections – on every level of my life. It overwhelmed me, energised me, tired me out, had me feel lonely and confused and inspired. Those days broke, strengthened and warmed me – all at the same. And most of all, I realised that to connect to others the way I want to, I need to be truly connected to myself, with all joys and laughter and pains and hurts.

That meant connecting deeply and to be able to let go entirely.

Where does all this leave me right now? With all the looking into connection in general, I got clear on what and which way I want to focus on for my year of “connection”, personal-, private-, and business-wise. What started as a cloud on my mind-map slowly but surely turned into a pathway. It will not be straightforward, connections will come in all shapes and colours. This year, too, will have its ups and downs, twists and turns, dents and humps. It will warm me, burn me, hurt me, make me. But, it will be my pathway, my “connection” to 2022.

How about you? Do you have a word for the year to lean on and grow with?
Do you feel connected to yourself, your surrounding, and others? If not, what small step can you take today to deepen one part?

And remember, sometimes we need to let go to make space for the connection we need.

I hope you find your ease,
Ann-Katrin