Connect is the word that keeps coming to me when I ponder my “why” for my Skill Centered Coaching business. I spent most of my life busy doing the things that life requires at work and at home. It seemed there were so many duties and obligations that stole any leftover time I had, that I failed to drop a note or make a phone call to the many that enrich my life daily and enhance my memories of the past. Obviously we are connected to our families, whether we desire it or not.
But I am struck by the broader connectedness that we share with all whose lives we touch and whose lives touch ours. We may not even know those that play a part in our everyday comforts and securities. They may not even live in our country. Whose hands have touched and provided the food we eat? Whose hard work made it possible for us to enjoy the comforts of heat and entertainment? I do not know all of these people, nor can I thank them all personally, but I can recognize and be grateful for them, knowing that each one has a story that relies on the love and support of others to continue their life each day.
Some connections happen often, some have been significant in the formation of who I am, and some have been fleeting or in the distant past. Even the not so wonderful connections are part of who I am and I am grateful even for those. I have been reading a lot of Fr. Richard Rohr’s books and daily meditations. He is a Franciscan priest that leads the Center for Action and Spirituality in Albuquerque New Mexico. One of his messages that has resonated with me over the past year is “If you do not transform your pain, you will transmit it” (to yourself or someone else.)
I have spent the past year working to transform my pain from just acceptance to love. Not an easy task, but the freedom and the release of accomplishing it has made me better able to recognize our connection to everyone and find love for all, even those who are still transmitting rather than transforming.
