On Mondays, we will write about the importance of “connection” in our lives and how we can establish and keep connections.

It was reported last month that 4 prominent men in the political field connect with each other daily on a morning phone call: George Stephanopolous, James Carville, Paul Begala and White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanual.  They are good friends and have done this for years.  While many conservative bloggers and commentators have derided these conversations as inappropriate “strategy sessions”, I am not interested in that aspect of the story.  

I am fascinated however by the fact that these friends talk virtually every day.  As I write often about the importance of connection, I was struck by how these men value their connection with each other.  To touch base with others who understand you and your circumstances and don’t just think they know you is critical to a sense of well being (happiness even ?).  This is why it seems that it was so important for President Obama to keep his Blackberry — to stay connected to those who knew him  before he was President and to maintain some form of normalcy.    

I think these stories are good reminders of the importance of connection.  I have always had a good relationship with my sister and after I moved to a different city from her 6 years ago (I am still not forgiven for this), the importance of staying connected took on new meaning for us.  She was a true lifeline for me as I was trying to figure out what to do with a newborn baby.  It wasn’t that she had the answers (she didn’t), but she knew me before I had my son and gave me the connection I needed to talk about fashion, entertainment, or just nothing. I used to call her everyday.  

As we have both changed and she has also had children (twins!), our time commitments have sometimes made our phone calls take a back seat to other things. This last month, I think we went almost two weeks without talking.  I was feeling disconnected and simply missing her.  After seeing the story about the Chief of Staff connecting every day with his friends, I decided surely my sister and I could connect more often.  So, we have reinstituted the “daily call.”  We’ll see how long it lasts, but just knowing we will try makes me happy.

Posted under Connecting, Happiness Project