Let’s Walk Each Other Home
Most of us want to feel connected to those we work with, live amongst, and in many other ways are with on a regular basis.
The big connections we have with each other – eg, the project we are working on, the organization we are working for, the club or association we are in, the friends and family we have – are important in that we feel a sense of sharing of interests, values, and even culture sometimes.
And yet …
And yet, it’s the less formal, one-on-one conversations, whether deliberate or by chance, that can make us feel truly connected to the other person.
The title of this post, “Let’s walk each other home,” is from a webinar I attended (I do not remember the context, but I did write those words down.) It struck me that it exemplifies a way of living that could be important, and a way to connect with others in a way that we have not really acknowledge the importance of.
Many of you were lucky enough to grow up in walkable towns, and met up with friends to walk back and forth to school. As you got older, perhaps you “liked” a certain person, and would offer to walk them home. It was a chance to spend time and talk – even if about nothing at all.
There are variations of this, which we might see in a work situation: “I’ll walk with you to the meeting.” “Let me see you out.” “Let me walk you to your car.” Think about it. It’s a way to extend time with that person, one-on-one. You may talk about nothing but the weather. Or you may tell them “I liked how you …. In that meeting.” Or you may use the opportunity to ask about something, even if it’s “so what are you doing for the rest of the day?” And sometimes, you are giving them an opportunity to say something they did not bring up earlier.
You are seeing them, you are listening, you are hearing them. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, yet it could be part of an incremental, positive impact of feeling (and being) connected.
(And I am talking about true connecting – you are doing it because you want to, vs transactional, when you just want more information (eg job background, project status) for your own purpose.)
In a recent webinar I was part of, Danya Pastuszek of the Tamarack Institute pointed out that “Connecting is a form of self-care,” and connections contribute to the collective care of your group or organization.
At the end of my last newsletter, I asked “What difference will YOU make in the year ahead?”
Perhaps offering to “walk someone home” can be part of that.
