When human life began, we connected to others by talking or having conversations. And even up until just a few decades ago, people connected by conversation.
As just one example, when we moved to the rural town of Washington, Vermont, back in the late 1960s, two different families invited us over for a meal to welcome us to town. How wonderful that was! And back then people connected so well with strong churches, a Grange, dancing on Saturday nights, 4-H, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, an annual town fair, and the list goes on.
Now, I am very sorry to say that if I was walking down the street in Barre and a next-door neighbor came by me in the other direction, I would not even recognize the person. How sad.
Now for most people, life connections are very different. Now most of our connection is by emailing, messaging, texting (which this old man just learned about), and other non-face-to-face conversations.
For me, connecting with other people is so important for my own psychological health. I do this by joining organizations, going to church, inviting people out to lunch, and inviting people to come visit our wonderful piece of land in Washington.
I also do it by giving away things. I also give away copies of the book “In Praise of Paths: Walking Through Time and Nature,” written by Torbjorn Ekelund in 2020. I don’t just give away the book; I write a statement of gratitude to the person I am sending it to on the inside of the cover page. I give away the book because a good friend gave me a copy a few years ago.
With all the problems we are facing in our communities and on this planet, it is more important than ever that we “connect” with other people by having conversations with them.
George Plumb
Washington
