Five Minute Friday: "Connect"

Preamble:  I started not to do this prompt.  I had a meeting with my mentor on this very subject (among others) and it didn't go well.  So, warning, I'm not in the best of moods (and I've even had a nap).  This is going to be longer than 5 minutes of writing, but I need to get this out of my craw.  Thank you for your patience, and as always, for reading this mess.

At work today, I kept getting hang up calls from the same person.  I knew who it was, so I figured she was "butt dialing" and didn't know it.  So, I didn't think much of it until she continued to call.   When we finally connected, it didn't last long.  She would ask a question.  I would answer.  She would start hollering "Hello!"  I'd start hollering "Hello!"  **Click**  Dang!  It took several tries before we were finally able to have a conversation without becoming disconnected.

For me, connection in life is just as hard...only finally getting to consistent connection is rare, but it is happening more than it used to.

The great news is that I regularly connect with two good friends; one in my neck of the woods, one in the far away land called Colorado.  Barring extenuating circumstances, I connect one-on-one with each lady once a week, one in person, one via Skype.  The ironic thing is that both of these friends are married--one with two children--yet we have so much in common--a clear "line" for connection.  It's a true blessing.  I also meet weekly with a gracious mentor.  Though we don't always see eye to eye, we have a great "line" of connection.  Again, a true blessing.

The not-so-great news is that in my daily walking around life, connection is so sparse, and often futile:  people who ask me a question, then talk all over me so I never get to answer, customers who won't get off their phones long enough to have a courteous face to face exchange with a fellow human being, a church culture that is so "families and children" oriented that singles with no children (especially women) are either leaving angry and depressed or lost in obscure invisibility. My two friends keep me sane in the midst of this painful obscurity; my mentor is encouraging me to be the agent of change from this painful obscurity.

It takes two to begin connection.

It takes two on the same "line" to truly connect.

How does one connect in such a disconnected world?  Is the world disconnected, or is it just my world that's disconnected?

Sorry folks, social media isn't going to cut it.  I found that out the hard way. That, my friends, is the equivalent of "butt dialing."

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Prompts provided by Mrs. Kate over at Heading Home.