Connect

What is it to connect?  It’s so easy today to avoid connecting with the people and the world around us.  We get caught up in our own minutia not realizing there is whole world interacting around us.  Connections are different for everyone.  What feels like an easy way to connect for me might seem incredibly terrifying for someone else.  I’m more of an extravert so striking up a conversation with a random person on the street, which I did last night, is just one of the numerous ways I connect with the world around me.  I make a point to go outside, take my shoes off and feel the ground underneath (I prefer sand and water but often settle for the grass in front of my apartment).  Each of these connections allows me embrace my surroundings and inspire me in different way.  I find regardless of the type of connection I’m making the most important thing is to be present in the moment.  Not thinking about what I have to do or imposing a particular outcome on the experience…just being there with all of my intention.

My car is in the shop, knowing I was going to be car-less for a day or two, I loaded my beach cruiser into my car prior to going to the repair shop.  Once done there I embraced my two mile journey home.  I confirmed that while biking I still do not like busy intersections (mental note: be more cognizant of the three foot bike law) and avoided those as much as possible, making me take a different path home.  Not going so fast I had the time to discover new treasures in my “neighborhood”.  There is a paper store with my friends name and a very unique iron works shop.  I believe there’s a hidden food establishment nearby (an adventure for another day) for the air changed from crisp, brisk, fall air to pizza filled.  I had to ride under the freeway, which sounded strangely like a train.  One intersection away from my destination, the sounds of the environment changed from industrial to laugher from the corner restaurant.  It wasn’t until that moment I realized my route had been people free.  Running errands later in the day on my bike was another adventure I again had time to take embrace my surroundings.  I complimented an elderly lady on her purple hat, I noticed Halloween decorated yards (these tend be huge sights around here since my area is filled with special effects people), I complimented two men on their progress on putting up a haunted house, it looked more like a scary clown house, to which I was invited to come back and check out the final product.  I don’t like to be scared so I told them I’d probably pass but then they invited me to be one of the ones scaring people, I said I’d think about their offer.  I was also complimented on how cute my bike was.

The compliment I received was delightful!  I re-learned that even the simplest connections have a huge impact on ones attitude and behavior and no matter how minute, have a ripple effect.  I’m making time and effort to have more connections.  I have started taking a class, have joined a support group for kids who have become caregivers (something I was completely against before), send random texts to my friends spreading my form of joy and of course I walk barefoot outside! 

There are so many ways to connect: compliment a stranger, call a friend, volunteer, write a letter (and mail it), send an unexpected text or email, smell the flowers while exploring your neighborhood and of course walk barefoot even if it is just in your house (although outside is a completely different experience)!

We love to be inspired & embrace your ideas!  Please share ways that you find connections with the people and world around you!

Introduction

Join us on our amazing journey which is made for everyone!  Why come along on this adventure?  We're just like you!  We have everyday trials and tribulations.  We've learned that if you embrace and celebrate life's hiccups and triumphs they are much easier to learn from.  Sharing our experiences connects us and helps inspire ourselves and others in all aspects of life.  This change is contagious!

A little about us & our tri-decade connection: Mandy & I met through our mothers who later became best friends.  I can't recall the initial meeting but I do recall babysitting Mandy and her two younger brothers when I was 11.  As our Mothers became closer friends our family got bigger. We were both the oldest female children in the group so of course we became friends.  Almost two decades later, Mandy's Mother married my Uncle, my Mom's brother.  This union made us cousins and more interconnected than before!  Mandy & I are rather different but we compliment each other, this allowed us to be brutally honest without hurt feelings (which in turn became self realization) that both of our lives, for different reasons, at different speeds, had deviated from the life journeys previously envisioned.  Neither one of us was entirely happy about this.  We had to make a change(s) in the direction our lives were going and in that process Exist Connected was created.  Embracing the idea that we were desperately in need of change and if we didn't help ourselves, then how could we expect anyone else too!  By changing what we could and embracing our strengths and the experiences around us, people started to take notice.  We were unknowingly inspiring others.  It was the ripple effect, we were the start.

Honing in on areas of our lives that needed to be changed we kept having the same conversation over and over again in different forms for years.  Change, Embrace, Connect, Inspire, Laugh, Learn and Celebrate kept resonating throughout.  As we started to tell others about what we had learned from our realizations; it became obvious we weren't the only ones striving for change.    

Change what doesn't work both inside and out
Embrace what is, who you are and possibility
Connect with others who are on their journey, yourself and nature
Inspire yourself and others and be open to being inspired
Laugh at life and yourself 
Learn new things, new ideas without prejudice 
Celebrate yourself, others and this journey that is life

Exist Connected will contain insights for making the journey more enjoyable for everyone.  We will be sharing ideas on everyday lifestyle tips,  places, occupations, crafts and who knows what else, we're open to inspiration?!  We are not alone on our journeys we are all connected in more ways than we realize and how we feel connected to one another varies dramatically! 

We want to make this your journey too.  Please let us know how you "connect" with the world around you and in the event you might be reluctant to try something new to connect please send us your ideas!  We'll be embracing them all!

~Heather & Mandy