My son is an aspiring maker.
His primary medium is wood.
Out in his 8 by 10 foot shed,
he is beginning to gather tools for his trade.
Deciding he needed his first table saw,
he searched on Craigslist
for something suitable.
He did his homework and knew what he wanted.
He found one
and
at a good price.
He made arrangements to meet the seller.
I drove him there.
When the man got out of his truck,
I knew him
and
my son had met him once.
After the hugs and handshakes,
we laughed about how small
our world is.
The table-saw connected us again.
But it wasn’t the saw really,
it was the technology behind our
social media and crowd-selling.
They have the potential for reminding us
how connected we are,
how we need each other,
how life is better together.
It seems, however, these social networks
cause so many to feel
more isolated,
more alone,
less worthy,
less desirable,
less grateful,
more angry,
more anxious,
more depressed.
What if this week,
you used your platforms
to create real,
live,
connections?
What if, this week,
you gave shout outs
for all the people whose lives
have made your life
better?
And why not reach out
to someone you once
knew
and
make a table-saw connection?
You’ll be glad you did.