“We’ve got a thousand friends on Facebook and no one to help us move our couch.”
~ Dr. John Delony
A pastor was starting a new church in Tennessee. The day he arrived in the Nashville area, he asked for a meeting with the police chief. He wanted to know what the biggest problem in the community is. Without hesitation, the cop told the pastor that loneliness is the number one cause of the majority of domestic problems his officers face every day.
We were not designed to be alone. When people are lonely, they’re not well. And by the way, you can be married, have a large family and a circle of friends, and still feel totally alone.
We’ve got to connect again. We’ve got to look each other in the eyes and tell each other exactly what’s going on; no matter what.
It feels risky. It is.
It feels awkward. It is.
But there’s power in Yes.
I was invited to an event in Michigan this weekend. It’s a 12 hour drive for me, and I’m going.
I asked a stranger to lunch last week. She accepted, and it was incredible.
Some of my high school friends from forty years ago talked last night. There’s a million other things we could have been doing instead, but we all said, “yes.”
I beg you to go first.
Let’s be human beings and human DOINGS. When I got that invite to Michigan, I responded immediately. “I wouldn’t miss it.” When I had lunch with that stranger, she opened up to me like she was dying for someone to see her. And before I hung up with my high school classmates, I told them that I love them.
It won’t always go as planned. It may crash and burn. Some people might think you’re weird. And you know what? That’s okay because what we’re doing now isn’t working. We’re choosing not to use our super powers. We’re choosing to suppress love.
We’re alone. And when the brain is alone, it begins to make up stories — stories we’re quick to believe because they’re told in a familiar voice — our voice.
Tell a new story.
Tell a true story.
Realize the power of “yes.”
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