Building Connections

This is the fourth post in the Go Slow Series.

Concept 4 - Spend your life connected to the people around you and the situations you inhabit

There may be many people around us at any given time, but what is our connection to them while we are with them?

Here is a way to have a meaningful connection with others that should be rewarding to both parties and shouldn’t take much time.

Do we look them in the eye, inquire about their lives, really listen to what they say and take the opportunity to truly relate to that person and do we share something with them?

,The Look-Inquire-Listen-Share (L.I.L.S.) approach to connecting with people isn’t an easy thing for everyone, but it is something almost anyone can begin to integrate into their daily life. Many people will say they are introverts, which is certainly fine, and they may not even speak with many people, but when they do, they should try L.I.L.S. Why? Because, human beings are social creatures and they suffer greatly when they live in near complete isolation. These short L.I.L.S. encounters can bring us mental health benefits including better self-esteem, increased empathy, lower rates of anxiety and depression and a better quality of life. Connection also offers physical health benefits such as strengthening the immune system, reducing inflammation, faster recovery from illness and a longer life.

Connecting with people is beneficial to all of us, but making connections to places can also be important. Places in nature are particularly good and can give us a sense of omneity, which is delightful feeling of allness or oneness. A forest, the ocean, a beautiful park, field, farmland, a sunny sky or a starry night can serve as a points for humans to connect to their natural world. In this case we are, of course, a part of the natural world and we're just another bit of its wonder.

As we seek to gain positive control, adding connections to people and nature is another way for us to increase our chance of bringing harmony into our body and mind. When we have this feeling of unity in our lives, we are much better at stopping incidences of stress, tension, illness and pain.