Do you ever wonder why we feel so alone?
We live in the most over populated world of our time. Think about it. The world's population fifty years ago housed 3.6 billion souls. Today, it's a whopping 8 billion - talk about global expansion! It's like a virus completely out of control. What will really get your MOJO going is that the population is expected to increase to 10 billion souls by 2050 - sure hope Starbucks will be able to keep up!
So, you would think with all these "available people" we would feel more connected to one another. Sadly, like a steamed latte the desire for meaningful connections is fading out with the wind. We're choosing to isolate ourselves more and more with each passing day.
Season's are changing yet how are we embracing a faster-changing world?
We're burying ourselves under mountains of meta data. It's as if we're all stuck in an hourglass buried by a cascade of bits and bytes. What will future explorers discover about the way we chose to live our lives? What new found wisdom will they uncover through the sands of time? Perhaps they'll say that through the pursuit of MORE we missed out on seeing the BIGGER PICTURE of our lives and what it all meant.
We expend a massive amount of our precious energy attempting to find our soul in the seas of social media.
Is that what you, me, all of us want to be remembered for? When was the last time you received a hand-written letter in the mail, a birthday card or a thank you note from a loved one? This was the first Christmas eve that my family was dispersed across the world. Our annual tradition of coming together through love and laughter was slowly deteriorating over the years and replaced with nieces and nephews obsessing over the newsfeed trickling in on their latest iPhone. This year, we chose to spend it apart, isolated and alone.
We keep deluding ourselves that everything is ok on the surface. We grasp the latest "motivational tip" like a kid in a candy store. We keep piling our empty lives with layers of meaningless clutter. We should be filled up yet the space between us just keeps expanding.
We have "successfully" supersized our world with bigger screens, unlimited data plans, faster downloads, so called "smarter smart phones" but at what cost? Is this "connection age" taking us to the promised land? Perhaps, future explorers will say we were MORE capable, compassionate and caring human beings. We learned to put others first. We prioritized face-to-face conversations in lieu of the latest emoji and Instagram post. We carved out the time to Reach Out and Inspire one another to be the best version of ourselves. This is an intention I have carried in my soul for many years but sadly, it feels like a fleeting dream. I struggle to make time for what matters with the people that matter most in my life. Most days my life feels like the check out line in a supermarket deli - when will they call my number?
Our lives are unbalanced - it's no wonder we isolate, medicate and numb out to the noise - the unwanted sound of the world.
We're running faster than ever but with no clear sense of direction. We're climbing new peaks but with little sense of arrival. Like the eye of a tornado I choose to look up and see the light. I choose to stop and listen to another soul's whisper. I desire to connect. I want to feel the love pulsing through a fellow human being's heart. I seek out "warriors of light" to rekindle the dying flame of humanity. It is my wish with the little time I have left in this physical world that others will pick up the torch and illuminate the way - the path to deeper connection.
None of us are meant to feel alone in this world. This is not why we are here. The gift of life we've all been presented with is meant for so much more. Time is the gift of life in the present moment. Perhaps less is better. Maybe we should consider hitting the power button a little more so we can soak in the miracle of life that is passing us by. Only then can we really listen.
