Earlier this week I was on an international conference call with a Chocolate Villa group, and the technology just wasn’t working properly. I could hear the other women’s voices, but there was a five-fold echo that garbled the messages. After many attempts to correct the problem, and alternative instant communication via email, we opted to reschedule the call.
I hung up feeling like I was, well, missing something. It took me a while to sort through what that was, and I soon realized that I was missing connection with these women. We had spent a joyful week together just a few months ago, and I was really looking forward to reconnecting and hearing about their work and progress.
Brene Brown, Research Professor from the University of Austin, says, “Connection is why we’re here. It’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. This is what it’s all about.”
But what is connection for us now? Is it a Facebook or face-to-face conversation? Is it an email or a handwritten note? A smile across the room or an emoticon text? Perhaps it’s all of the above. Our world has changed, and we have changed with it. And inasmuch as some experts are saying that electronic communication is changing us in only negative ways, others are saying our brains get the same reinforcing chemical hit when someone “likes” our most recent post.
At Chocolate Villa, we know that connection is a crucial part of feeling confident and capable to achieve our “next”, whatever that may be. Knowing we have the support of others who understand and share our experience often gives us the strength and determination to remove the internal and external barriers to our success.
Connect with us this month at Chocolate Villa in our Facebook and LinkedIn groups. We want to build our community of support, sharing, and connection, and keep the magic of our Chocolate Villa experiences alive. Our closed Chocolate Villa Community page on Facebook is open only to Villa alumnae; it’s a place for you to share news, pictures, upload Jewels of Wisdom, and keep in touch with each other…and us, of course.
Because you are all “our favorites.”
—Merrilee