When one looks at the world today I wonder if we are really connecting? Except….

Paul McGowan who writes a column mainly about High End Audio and Audiophiles (I am one) wrote a small piece today that I share with you as it is exactly how I am feeling:

Emotional connections – Paul McGowan

There’s rarely a moment we’re not emotionally connecting with something. Food, weather, smells, conversation, music.

For most of us, that’s a good thing. We like being emotionally connected to external stimuli.

I have noticed, as of late, that elements in our technological society seem to be insular rather than connecting. Cell phones, television, fast food, Twitter.

The one constant we can count on to connect us is music and the proper equipment to reproduce it.

Life’s too short to be disconnected.

SOURCE: http://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/emotional-connections/

And music is one thing that all of us, although we have different tastes, can connect.

I came out of church today and one of our members has to leave, because of the rollover policy, so there was a farewell for him. He also a member of a men’s Fellowship group I belong to. Because I have certain duties I have to perform at the church I was not the first but nowhere the last to go to the farewell brunch in his honour.

Most of the tables and chairs were occupied but there were some spaces. Twice I asked if I could join the table to be told “Sorry, no,” we are saving the seats for friends.”

So I am not a friend……?

Immediately there was a disconnect and I paid my respects to other Fellowship members, explaining what had happened and left.

Whenever I am on a table and seats are being saved and someone asks if they can join the answer is always, “Yes”. The person takes my seat and I find another chair and everyone shuffles. moves up and we all connect in fellowship.

I did have another church to go to but I had made my excuses that I would not be able to attend, so you can guess where I ended up. And what a difference. Although I was late I was welcomed and we all connected and life was good. Life IS good.

It is we that do the disconnect because as Paul McGowan said we have got insular instead of connecting.

Before this incident and wondering what I was going to write about, Joan’s dog, Sugar, had actually inspired me how humans disconnect and then I read Paul’s little piece, so that made it a sure thing.

So what have humans disconnecting got to do with a dog. Well, Sugar is a German Shepherd plus other breeds, but has a temperament that, despite her name, is not always sweet. Where I live at Newlands there are a number of stray cats around and Sugar likes to bark at them and if she wasn’t on a leash she would run at them and chase them away. There are a number of pieces of waste ground, where chiefly humans throw their garbage and boxes of uneaten food or bones. There is one stray cat in particular that is always on this particular piece of waste ground to scavenge for the food and some people now actually leave cat food for her on a metal pan. Sugar used to bark at the cat, but because the cat was hungry he/she would stand her ground and carry on eating because I was holding Sugar back.

This morning, however, the cat was there searching for food and Sugar instead of barking sniffed the cat and he/she gave a miaow back and the two rubbed up against one another. They were now friends. Two disconnects had become connects.

If animals can do it why can’t we?

Connecting with one another is how we all should be. Is it that difficult?