undo “Zero Social Contact”

Two years ago or so, I declared here in my journal that I will decrease my desire for “social contact” and I did it – diligently. I was happy, content and fulfilled and very peaceful. I would wake up in the morning, get my cup of coffee, put my headphones on, read and meditate and then write something in my journal. Then I go to work, speak less and be quite all day and speak only when spoken to. In the evening, I will exercise for 1 hour, eat, then put my headphones on and listen to Christian music and read until tired and then sleep. On the weekends, I bike for 3-4 hours on Saturday and then swim 2.4 miles on Sunday (without talking to anyone). I did that for many months.

In those times, I learned a lot. I’ve gained the skill of freedom, autonomy and self sufficiency. I learned that one does not really need anyone to be happy and peaceful. I learned that a person can really be at peace without social contact. In fact “social contact” is mostly the root cause of unhappiness. Think for instance how those broken relationships started, it started with a simple connection.

But 4 days ago, my mindset of “zero social contact” changed. I was at the local pool doing my usual 2.4swim when a whisper in my heart says “connection”. I could not comprehend at first why the word “connection” flashes in my mind. I kept swimming until my 2.4 was completed, a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes of thinking about “connection”. When I was done and heading for the showers, I saw this lifeguard who had been watching me for years swim at this local pool. I had 30 seconds to decide to connect before I will pass her position at the poolside which I normally just nod and smile and say goodbye. This time , I changed my goodby routine. I stopped by her lifeguard chair and directly a level 4 question “How many times a person forgives?” She was shocked at first but then in a few minutes she answered my question in a very elaborate way. That moment, we became instant friends.

In our conversation, a topic about connection came up and then she told me about an author named Brene Brown who had done a comprehensive research on connection. I googled the name and then watch her briefly on TED.

I came home, look up my booklist and found “Gift of Imperfection”. In the first few pages, courage, compassion and connection were explained well and how vulnerability and wholehearted are related. I’m not done with the book yet but I want to let you all know that the topic about “vulnerability” is worth investigating.

New ToDo:

I have to undo my “zero social contact” project. I need to connect to people once again because I can’t just love myself, I have to love my neighbor as Apostle Paul mentioned below.

Here’s the link of the book sampler for the Gift of Imperfection.

https://www.hazelden.org/HAZ_MEDIA/2545_GiftsofImperfection.pdf

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬
http://bible.com/59/gal.5.14.esv