CONNECT Meaningfully!

<p>The seemingly nice, albeit shabby dressed young man was boldly asking for gas money in the Walmart parking lot. Clarissa said no, and was caught off guard when he started to rant and raise his arms above his head. She pushed her daughter back, and away from them both, however the street thug stepped toward her, all at once closing the gap, and put both of his hands on her throat.</p> <p>Clarissa CONNECTED with both her arms, trapping his forearms to herself, and stepped quickly back toward the wall. His initial motion carried him rapidly into that same wall. As luck would have it, he stubbled, and his head hit solidly with a thump.</p> <p>Clarissa had practiced this move with partners in her Hapkido sessions many times. However, the wall was padded, and her training partners knew how to protect their heads as they slammed into the pad over and over again. This time it was different.</p> <p>As he regained his senses, his blurred vision saw Clarissa rapidly CONNECTING to the small crowd that had formed, and just as he stood he could see the lights of a patrol car speeding toward them and ran.</p> <p>Clarissa, and her daughter were safe, the young man was not found, and her training had paid off big time.</p> <p>In this word of Internet, social media, and text, CONNECTION seems to be everywhere, and yet how meaningful are our CONNECTIONS? How much do your CONNECTIONS effect your life? Sure many of us have 1000 followers on this platform or that. However, how close, and meaningful are they really?</p> <p>Clarissa would perhaps argue that those same 1000 friends really didn’t make that much difference that day. In fact they were worthless. Still, her brief encounter with a total stranger was intimate, powerful and life threatening. Even the bystanders were more help than her bestie who later “liked” and shared Clarissa’s experience from the parking lot that day.</p> <p>Life is about CONNECTIONS. None of us would even be here without CONNECTION, and our survival each day depends on it.</p> <p>That being said, how me