It’s All Connected

(or How a Blog Got Its Name)

About five years ago I began treatment from an acupuncturist. At the end of our first session I felt better in several respects, but mentioned that I wanted him to work particularly on my knee pain. He then took one of the tiny needles and inserted it into my breast. The pain in my knee was gone, temporarily. In amazement I asked him how he did that. In his Chinese accent, he replied, “Pat, it is all connected.” I was reminded of that several times subsequently as treatment continued.

Perhaps because I heard these words so often from Dr. Ly, and because they wormed their way into my psyche, I began to notice how much of life is all connected ~ just as he said. Remember the old game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? It was based on the “six degrees of separation” premise that most of us are only six relationships away from any other one of us on Earth. Supposedly I know a person, who knows another person, who knows another person…..and within six relationships I could connect to actor Kevin Bacon, who apparently was selected arbitrarily as the target of the connectedness. It’s an interesting concept, and the game was popular for years.

Hasn’t being connected taken giant steps with the escalating technology of today? I recently observed workers leaving a large medical building at closing time. Almost every person was connecting with someone on a cell phone as they walked to their car. Is this type of connecting reaching epidemic proportions?

Not only are human relationships connected, but there are countless connections in nature, and every aspect of life. Scientists are discovering new ones continually.  

Being connected in unusual ways is fascinating for some of us. Not long after joining Facebook, a new young fb friend in my Sunday morning class asked me how I knew a longtime friend fb friend who lived hours away on the Gulf coast. Turns out the young woman was a student of the older friend in elementary school in Michigan many years ago. We were amazed and excited to know that we shared friendship with Sandra in common. Because of Facebook many such connections have come to light. And what fun it is to learn of them!

In our Wednesday night class, we share stories of God’s obvious and amazing power working in our lives. So often we have been astonished at the ways He has connected seemingly unrelated factors to bring about stunning results. It has happened so often now, that we find ourselves shrugging, smiling, and saying, “It’s all connected!” It’s an unofficial motto for the class.

For many years I have known that life is all about relationships. Jesus said it long before I did. The number one relationship is ours with Him. And the second is our relationship with our fellow-man. These relationships are so vital that Christ named them Commandments One and Two. Nothing in all of a spiritual life is more important.  

If you are reading this humble attempt to blog, you and I have a relationship. And I dearly love connecting with you. We may not see each other often ~ or even ever ~ but we are connected in some manner. And, for me, our connection is a passion. I know you have something to offer that will enrich my life, and I trust that I can bring something to the relationship that will benefit you. I wish each reader knew all of my wonderful friends, and that I knew yours. Who knows? Maybe we do, and just haven’t figured it out yet. After all ~ it IS all connected!