I hope that your 2022 has been shaping up okay and you are setting good intentions for yourselves.
Normally, people speak about making a New Year’s resolution at the beginning of the year, but I think intentions are a little bit different than resolutions. A resolution, to me, has a bit of a negative connotation to it, in that it seems as if you are resigning yourself to doing something that you don’t want to do. While an intention, on the other hand, has a more positive spin to it, in that you are working towards a predetermined goal or aim. For this reason, I want to be intentionally positive (pun intended!) and strive for some positivity in this very negative and uncertain world that we all find ourselves in today.
With that said, I had an interesting situation happen to me in the last week. For some reason, I felt compelled to write a post on a Facebook group that I am a part of. The group was started as a way for people to connect with and start conversations about the hometown that I grew up in back in NJ. There had recently been a number of posts that went back and forth about what was appropriate to be posting on this site. As I’m sure you can imagine, there were some strong opinions on several sides of this issue. For that reason, I decided that I would send the following post:
“As someone who grew up in West Caldwell and now lives in Phoenix, AZ, I so appreciate this Facebook group. I’ve lived outside NJ for 23 years now and it is always great to read about the memories that we all shared growing up. While we may have lived in different houses and had different families, we all grew up with and had our lives shaped by shared experiences. I love to tell people that I grew up in NJ. While I can honestly say that all my memories are not fond ones (I mean who can actually say that?), I am so appreciative of the Caldwell/West Caldwell roots that I have. I am the sum total of all my experiences and would not be the person I am today, if not for the period I spent in NJ. Thanks to those who post. It is great to hear about those experiences that left an indelible mark on you. Plus, I learn more and more about those of you that I do know by reading your responses. I hope 2022 treats all of you well!”
The reaction to this post was very surprising to me. I thought that I had written a fairly anonymous and unassuming post, but the response was anything but! As of the writing of this letter, 215 people have like the post and over 40 people have reached out with a comment of their own echoing the sentiments that I expressed in my post. Several have wondered if I am my father (we have the same name!) or if I am related to either my mother or my father. And many have expressed their fondness for me and my family. I had no idea that I would get this level of interaction and engagement with this post. I was simply speaking from the heart about something that was important to me. I wasn’t looking for someone to agree or disagree with me and I wasn’t trying to convince someone else to come over to my side. I was simply letting people know how important growing up in West Caldwell was to me and how much I appreciated the posts that were made in this Facebook group.
So, upon further reflection, what I think happened here is that people are craving connection. After almost two years of being locked down with the pandemic, I believe we all just want a little bit more “normal” in our lives. “Normal” in this instance is what I would consider real engagement with our fellow man. It’s not snarky Social media comments or a discourse on why someone else is wrong and you are right. There will always be disagreements in the world, but isn’t that what makes our world so interesting? Having different points of view and the ability to actually discuss those differences is what makes the world go ‘round.
Based on this experience, I decided that one of my intentions for 2022 is to create a community with my clients and strategic partners to foster more interaction, engagement, and support for one another. To that end, I plan on writing a monthly column that will speak about this very subject called “Just My Two Cents….” In addition, I will be hosting some kind of virtual experience monthly where we can learn a little about a topic that is germane to us all, but, more importantly, act as a vehicle for us to connect as a community. I am also finalizing the details for an Annual Gratitude Party for 2/24/22, so please save the date! Official invitation to come shortly….
With that in mind, let’s all try and set some positive intentions for ourselves and support each other in those aims throughout the year.
As always, thanks for your trust!