The Nature of Connections

Tonight I'm musing about relationships. I think it's so interesting that someone that you haven't seen in years can seem closer to you than someone you see and talk to every day. It's the nature of connections, I guess. The way you can hit it off immediately with someone, yet know someone else for years and never really know what makes them tick or find that common ground.

Anyone who knows me knows that I've never met a stranger. But why is it that we feel more comfortable around some people than around others? It's not always because we know them better or have spent more time with them. Sometimes we instinctively trust someone we've just met. Why?

There are people in my life that I know I can just pick up a conversation with no matter if I haven't spoken to them in weeks or months, even years. When we talk, it's like the time and and distance between us just melts away. My friend, Laura, and her family drive from Michigan to Vero Beach, FL around Easter each year for Spring Break, and make a point to stop near St. Simons along the way so we can at least grab a meal together. Last year, she called me to tell me that they had decided not to stop for lunch, but instead planned on staying the night so I could show them my island and we could have some more time together. I was thrilled. We spent the time laughing about old friends and parties that we had and places we had been just like they had happened yesterday. And though we may have only spoken by phone or email infrequently throughout the months that intervene, if they stop again this year, we'll do the same. It's so nice to have friends (and family) like that.

Does the connection that we feel with these people come from shared memories, common experiences, similar ideologies? I really don't know. How do friends gravitate to each other? Why do some friends last forever while others come and go out of our lives like the seasons? These things fascinate me.

Facebook has made these connections even more interesting. I can now stay in touch with people I lost contact with years ago, even though we are now in various states, doing very different things with our lives. And in the same way as in real life, some of those connections are just casual acquaintances that I'd like to keep up with but don't have much contact with, while others have prompted phone calls and visits and strengthening of relationships that otherwise might have been lost.

You never know exactly what role someone will play in your life, or how long they will be a part of it, for that matter. People who enter your life briefly or unexpectedly might have a greater impact or leave a more lasting impression than others that you might have expected to do so. So when someone reaches out for your hand, grab hold and make that connection.