Real connection

zipper-connect

Last week I went to my organization’s home office for a business meeting. After the meeting, friends of almost twenty years took me to the airport for my flight back to Denver. We haven’t seen each other much since we parted, nearly 18 years ago. But our bond is still deep enough that we were able to cut right to the heart of our current joys and struggles. No discussions of what sports our kids play or what schools they attend. By the end we had some real solid material on which to pray for each other.

Who do you know like that? I hope there are similar friends in your current circle. Takeaway: how can you deepen your present-day relationships? I’d suggest opening up to those people in a deeper way than you have before. Be risky.

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Of pens, pencils and social media

pencils-pen

I’ve always loved pens.

I just met Phil. He gave me a pen. (How cool is that?) He told me about the Levenger Store at Macy’s – a few blocks from the conference I attended over the weekend. Normally Levenger will assemble a small notebook for you to try out their pens on. Sadly, they were out of the paper, so I couldn’t get one. I did test drive a few of their pens. Nice. My budget wouldn’t quite stretch for the one I liked, but I did buy some pencils! My buddy Jon is analogue enough that he likes pencils, so I shared my pack with him.

One of the reasons I enjoy the social media community is that they’re very open-handed and friendly, as evidenced by Phil and Jon. Even though Chris has more than 66,000 followers on Twitter, he greeted me like a long-lost friend. (That was our first time to meet in person, though we have known each other through blogging for almost four years.) Jon, Becky, Sheila, NEENZ and I were good buddies by the end of the conference.

The social media community is a huge contrast to the graphic design community. When I finished college, I started work in Dallas. I went to several professional designers’ meetings. They seemed to be centered around achievement and ego. I never fit in. But the social media community celebrates those with disabilities that some may look down on. How refreshing!

And the pencils and pen are nice.

Takeaway: what are some ways you can be open-handed today?

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