We Are All Connected -- Mon., Oct. 22

Beaver Ponds hike, Yellowstone N.P.--Bob, Jim, Peri

"When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass and so, we are all connected in the great circle of life."

~Mufasa, The Lion King

“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”

~Neil deGrasse Tyson

"But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything."

~Alan Watts

What brought up this topic in my mind today is an article Bob showed me in The Huffington Post about friendship. The article is titled "Why Friends May Be Your Ticket to Living to 100" by David R. Hamilton, Ph.D. He makes the point that genetics only accounts for 20-30% of our longevity. Lifestyle accounts for another portion of how long we live. 

But new research done at Brigham Young University and an Australian study both indicate that something has been left out of the equation: friendships, connectivity, social contact. I highly recommend you read the entire article and his accompanying links to understand the full impact. 

In the past couple of days, Bob and I had been discussing how we'd like to make more friends while we're on the road and how to go about doing it. Isn't it interesting when an idea or problem comes into your consciousness, the answer shows up somewhere, somehow. Amazing we should see this article today.

Here is a quote from David Hamilton, Ph.D.'s article:

"We are wired for social contact. Our health thrives when we connect with each other and suffers when we are lonely. It seems that at the heart of all things, being connected sustains life.

"So one of the secrets to longer lifespan may be to get connected. It might mean having more regular contact with family or friends. For some, it might mean joining a club, taking up line dancing, or even starting a language class. It can mean making more of an effort to chat with neighbors or inviting friends around for dinner. It might even mean going out of your way to help others in need on a regular basis.

"There are many ways in our lives that we can improve how much we connect with others. When we do, we do ourselves a favor, but we do our family, friends, or anyone else we connect with, a favor too."

How about you? What do you do to meet people on the road? We came up with these ideas:

• Walk around the campground and talk to people
• Sit outside, talk to people who walk by
• Meet blogger friends when we're in the same area
• Hang out at the pool more
• Go to social events at the RV park
• Invite people over for a meal
• Invite fellow bloggers/RVers to go walking or hiking 

The other idea that Dr. Hamilton suggested above is particularly relevant to me, "going out of your way to help others in need." I have been the recipient of truly awesome help and friendship after my fall. In my heart I want to "pay it forward" to others who may be in a similar plight.

I do believe we are all connected in ways we may never truly understand. I like thinking about it and then acting on it. Let's make our RV family even closer. I'm game. Are you?

Speaking of connections, we have new followers: Paul and Marti of R Sanity RV Adventures. Isn't that a clever blog name? They have been full-timing since December 2011 and have been all over the U.S. Paul is retired Coast Guard and Marti retired from being a nursing home administrator.

Kitty cat connection photo follows. Tune out now if you're not into the kitty pics.

I emptied out all the water from the case and put the empty container by the door for recycling. Bowie connected and walked the empty case all over the kitchen floor. Crazy cat!

"I have conquered the new thing."

Travel Bug out.