It is after each run that I have with this wonderful group of friends, that just sets me up so well for my day.  We call ourselves the ‘joyous plodders’.  We meet very regularly, at the same place at the same time – early mornings.  And we plod, shuffle, run and walk.  We might chat or might just huff and puff in silence.  Sometimes the conversations are important but more often than not they are light hearted and silly.  BUT, at the end of each plod (that is followed by coffee) we are energised, happy and all of us feel big hearted.  We leave feeling that the day is manageable.  We have a spring in our step and we are smiling.  

Yes, it is partly the running – but mostly I would say it is the connections.  And that is what I am thinking about a lot this week.  We need to socialise and connect and reach out and be with other and interact and chat – with others, face to face.   We are wondrously created to be social.  And the internal workings of our extraordinary bodies responds to this. 

When with others our dopamine and oxytocin levels rise.  These are the hormones that make us feel good.  We need them to enthuse and energise us.  

And this leads to another important thing for our young.  Those who are entering into new chapters need the connections and network.  This comes from interacting and forming relationships – no matter how business like or brief.  Our ability to connect comes from communicating, reaching out to others and building a rapport.  Even if somebody is feeling unsure as to how to start this, just feeling more self assured and feeling more buoyed up provides the springboard to taking courageous action.  

This is a roundabout way of saying – say YES to meeting with others, say YES to joining a club, say YES to meeting a friend, say YES to just being around others.