Holiday Card to My Twitter & Facebook Friends

“Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it.” (source: Gallop Management Journal)

That’s part of the description of the “Connectedness” theme, from the Clifton StrengthsFinder . It’s an assessment tool I use in my work. When you take it, you learn your top 5 (of 34) themes. One of mine is connectedness. I wasn’t surprised to learn this. It simply reinforced a truth and gave me new language to use when speaking about it.

As I write Christmas cards to friends and family, I started thinking about all of you, my online friends. There’s a tiny bit of crossover in these groups, in that some of the people I am connected to apart from the internet are also on twitter and facebook. But most of you who read this will never meet me in person. And while I’d love to share a cup of coffee, glass of wine, or just a good sit down chat with many of you, I know that’s unlikely, and I’m okay with that. Because for someone like me, someone who feels we are all connected, I don’t have to see you to feel touched by something you’ve said. And daily, you say things that make me smile, cringe, laugh out loud, tear up, or for lack of another word…feel connected. And I’ll admit it, I thrive on that.

So I want to give something back to all of you, for all you give me. This blog post is my holiday card to you. For the ones who I talk to daily and know your every up and down and you know mine, to the ones who I may only exchange the rare tweet or facebook comment with.

I live in an almost constant state of wonderment at the way I can connect to the simplest things you say. It may be that you had a bad hair day, the garage door got stuck, your dog is sick, you’re having trouble accepting your age, you baked cupcakes, you love ampersands or Harry Potter (or both!), you’re eating awesome Indian food, it’s snowing/raining/sunny where you are, your kids are driving you to drink – and you discovered a new wine I might like too! While it’s relatively easy to connect with someone on the big things: political or religious views, family connections, etc. it’s through these little moments that to me, the living takes place. And I’m grateful for each connection.

My wish for each of you is that this holiday season you would feel as much love, hope, peace, and joy as I do and that those feelings would encourage you through the difficult times we each face. I am grateful to have you in my life.

With love,
Sue