The power of connection

I was sitting in a hotel restaurant, working on my laptop to fill in time before heading to the airport (obviously not in 2020 :-)). The woman behind me was talking loudly, telling her daughter that she should eat up because they weren’t getting anything else that day until dinner.

The things that help us connect are not how much we’ve achieved, how graceful we are, how eloquent or how professional…

I was fascinated and annoyed at the same time. I thought to myself: ‘I bet you anything she buys her fairy floss or something later today.’ Why even waste your breath. Why not just tell the truth and say: I have $X to spend today and that’s it. If you want treats, then we won’t be able to do other fun stuff.’

My mind was wandering to how I might handle it. In any case, I was finding it hard to concentrate because the conversation was so loud.

Then, another voice entered.

A Random Moment of Connection In a Random Place

“I had to come over here…. I heard your voice,” said a northern English girl who was sitting across the room from us. “And I thought, that’s Sally.”

It was, in fact, Sally. The girl’s mother was best friends with Sally’s sister in the UK.