Ted Strikes Again!
I just became the 33,334,654th person to watch Brene’ Brown’s TEDx video on The Power of Vulnerability. Brene’ Brown is a professor at the University of Houston, specializing in human connection. Her talk is one of the five most widely viewed TED talks ever. What does she have to say that so many people are interested in hearing?
“A deep sense of love and belonging is an irresistible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don’t function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.” – Brene Brown
As technology expands like a virus (no pun intended), our time becomes more limited, and our world falls into greater divisiveness, I think many of us are “falling apart, breaking, and getting sick.” Although we seek love, we are afraid to give it. We desire to be seen yet we judge and criticize, we hope for acceptance but fear to be different. Our disconnection from others grows, but maybe what should concern us most is the growing disconnect inside ourselves.
How to Thrive in a Disconnected World
Before I had my six-pack of dogs (and cats), I tended to isolate myself, spent many weekends alone, and in fact, considered myself an introvert. But since I’ve uncovered and cultivated my own Animal-Human Health Connection with my dog and cat companions and other rescue animals who have come into my life, I’ve discovered that these friends can be true masters of connection.
Taking my dogs for walks have connected me to my community, encouraged conversations with neighbors, and formed friendships with like-minded animal lovers and not so like-minded strangers. And if I really think about it, it’s because of my cats and dogs that I’ve connected on a global level to people I would never have ordinarily met via my book “Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse.”
We will never think like dogs or feel like cats but having a conscious relationship with these amazing creatures can connect us to nature in a profound yet simple way that allows us to thrive in our modern world. Through them, we learn to love more fully, to accept love, and to experience belonging. Technology isn’t the enemy but disconnection can certainly be. Unless of course, you have a watchdog to alert you to Stay Pawsitive!
Carlyn
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