|| Connections which matters ||

 || Connections which matters ||

We have heard many stories about the soul connections we have in this world that make us connected somewhere in life. In this universe, humans are connected in some way. It is also said that social connections are essential for a healthy life and well-being. We were born into this universe with an empty mind, and during that time only connections with parents and family were there, but over time we developed so many connections that made us feel part of this universe. I recently attended the American Academy of Audiology in Seattle, and we all have heard about medical prescriptions for medicines, but now the new terminology in research is "social prescription," which is new and very necessary in life. It is just like what happens with our connections in life, which matter a lot, especially for our mental health and well-being. There is much research happening in this world about human connections, but somehow I was not convinced about this until I felt it.

During the Pandemic, I just felt an intuition to write about spreading positivity, and I never got in-depth about why I was writing, but now it is making me feel that this thought came to me because I deal with specially challenged kids who are deprived of connections from this normal world, as well as working with hearing impaired people who have to struggle hard to develop social connections to live a healthy life. This is indirectly helping me to develop more connections in this universe, which means creating more positive energy in my life for my own health and well-being. Uploading blogs every week and publishing articles every week in the newspaper about spreading positivity in this universe are making so many connections for me in this world.

While traveling from Mumbai to Istanbul to Seattle, USA, I was just thinking about why I was traveling all the way to another part of the world to attend a conference. I think as an individual, I feel it helps me to learn more and also widen my thinking, and while traveling, you learn so much about different countries, cultures, foods, and many other areas of an individual's life. In transition at Istanbul Airport, one such incident happened, which made me feel that connections do matter and miracles do happen. At Istanbul Airport, when you get in, to develop connections with your own people, you need to have your own Wi-Fi, which is a new trend in this world. And to connect to Wi-Fi, you need to scan your passport in the Wi-Fi booth, and it generates a password that you need to fit into your phone. Then Wi-Fi starts, and you get it for an hour, and you have to finish talking to your connections around the world in an hour. I was struggling to understand, but one African helped me solve it who was at this Wi-Fi booth.

After that, I just decided to sit in one place until my gate was announced for my next flight. There was one lady who came and sat next to me. She was struggling to start Wi-Fi, and I also heard someone talking to someone in Gujarati, and somehow I felt like connecting with her. I told her, "Since you are struggling to connect to Wi-Fi, can I help you?" and I spoke to her in my Gujarati, which made us connect so fast. Her Wi-Fi started, she was happy, and then we had so much conversation about each other, our professional work, our charity work, and many more things as we had met many times before. While conversing, she mentioned her liking for her Gujarati language, and she did mention that she still reads Gujarati newspapers. Then slowly I questioned her about whether she reads Gujarati newspapers, especially Janbhoomi Pravasi, and promptly she replied, I do read, especially an article about one writer who writes about spreading positivity. I quietly said I'm the same person, and to her surprise, she reacted with so much energy, "Are you the same person?" I mean, the energy that I saw in her increased so much energy, and that made me realize how connections matter in our lives.

After meeting her and leaving with such great energy, I proceeded through security to board a different flight while sitting and speaking in Gujarati with my husband. One couple was on their way to Seattle to meet their son, who works there. They were afraid of losing contact with their son because they were visiting the US for the first time and were having trouble connecting to wifi. The mother appeared to be quite anxious. They instantly seemed so much more at ease when they heard me speaking in Gujarati. The husband told his wife, who is Gujarati, that if she is okay with it, he will ask me to call their son. As soon as I ended my conversation, they requested that I contact their son and help them in speaking with him. I made their son talk to his father, and after talking the father gave my phone back to me. When I picked up the phone, the son's mom was curious to speak with him, so I said, "Please talk to your mom as well. My phone has incoming free. It's ok." This inadvertently increased my energy and helped me realize how important relationships are to our well-being.

After that, I also met them at the Seattle airport and called their son to let him know they had arrived safely. I gave thanks to God throughout those travel-related times since I have strong confidence in him and his blessings are assisting me in making the right decisions in my life. My relationship with God through prayer is enabling me to connect with those who have lovely spirits. I did bring Lord Ganesha's idols to the airport in India to give as gifts to my international friends. During the conference, in the main general session, there was a wonderful speech by J. Isreal Greene (DEI) Speaker, which is new terminology people are talking about all around the world, especially after the effects of the pandemic. To be connected in your profession, you need to understand that diversity, equity, and inclusion are very important, and you have to make people feel like they belong in this world and feel connected. He explained so well that I felt overwhelmed, and I felt it connected with my thoughts of spreading positivity.

So I decided to meet him after his speech, and I went up to him and decided to gift Ganesh's idol to him. I felt God had sent him into this universe to make so many people connected to each other. I thanked him and told him about my thought process of spreading positivity, and I explained that this gift of Ganesh's idol is a blessing, and we worship Ganesh whenever we do new work. We worship Him and pray that every work we do will get His blessings. I wish you good luck in all your future endeavors. To my surprise, he cried, and he felt that God's idol came as a blessing to him as a reward for his presentation. He said people like you spread light on this universe, and that made me feel that connections with beautiful souls do happen, that they come as miracles in life, and that they come as whatever good thoughts you spread in this universe.

I was so lucky to connect with so many people coming from other parts of the world and felt that it matters a lot to have connections in your life for your own well-being and the well-being of others. We also had a hearing-impaired person as a speaker at the end of the conference who was a comedian, D. J. Demers. He spoke about the "Hear to Hear Tour," and he did speak about his hearing impairment, which didn't connect him to this world in his earlier life, but now, with the revolution in technology as hearing aids and cochlear implants, we can connect with normal people so well, and for us, connections matter a lot. He made audiologists feel so special by saying that your help for our disability helps us overcome all our challenges of connecting to all humans in our lives. My dear friends, when will we normal people understand how "connections do matter" in our lives for our own well-being?