The Power of Connection
I'm inspired by the five values that drive Lighter Side of Climate, but connection is a particularly strong driver for me.
The power of connection came into stark focus in my second year as a high school teacher over 20 years ago. Matt was a student in my class and also a runner I coached on the track team. He was a happy-go-lucky guy, though, like most teens, he faced his share of challenges. For instance, I know that his father died at some point during Matt’s childhood. Over the course of the school year, we had gotten to know each other both in the classroom and during long training runs.
On one of the last days of class before he graduated, Matt hung back as the other students filed out. He sheepishly pulled out a wallet-sized picture of a middle-aged man, taken from the chest up. (This was in the days before iPhones when people actually carried printed pictures.) The man in the picture had a mop of messy brown hair and a Fu Manchu mustache cascading down around a gentle grin. Looking directly at the camera, his brown eyes twinkled behind wire-rimmed glasses.
“Coach,” Matt said, holding it out to me, “This is a picture of my dad. I want you to have it.”
I was floored. “Matt,” I replied, “I can’t possibly take that picture. That’s your dad! You should keep it.”
“No. I want you to have it so you know what he looked like.” He placed it on my stack of books and walked out.
Matt graduated a few weeks later. That summer, I began working for a different school district in a city miles away. We haven’t seen or spoken to each other since, but there hasn’t been a week that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about that moment. I still have that picture and take it out to look at it from time to time.
Ultimately, that moment with Matt taught me the profound power of connection. It was a visceral reminder of how deeply we can impact one another, often without even realizing the full extent of it at the time. Connection can be magical. Sometimes it happens nearly instantaneously; you can almost hear the clap of thunder that accompanies it. Other times, connection forms through many small interactions that build upon each other slowly over years.
In the context of climate action, cultivating these kinds of bonds—through shared experiences, genuine understanding, and yes, even play—can create the mental well-being, resilient communities, and collective will we so desperately need to drive change.
The Greek philosopher Plato reputedly said, “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” While I'm not sure this sentiment entirely holds up, I do know that by encouraging playfulness in adults, we're not just fostering fleeting moments of joy; we're jumpstarting these vital connections to form and flourish. When we engage in play, our guards come down, we open ourselves up to new interactions, and we build rapport that can translate into stronger relationships and more effective collective action. This, I believe, is essential for addressing any of the wicked problems we are faced with, as it's through these strengthened connections that we'll find the unity and innovative spirit required to navigate the challenges ahead.
