Authentic Connection.

With the rise of digital communication and the internet, we are interacting less and less in person.

I believe that it’s only through meeting with someone face-to-face that we can develop a real, authentic connection with them.

I am fortunate to work in a service industry where I am able to engage with people every day when they walk into Virtus.

Now don’t get me wrong. Social media, email and even tools like Skype give us great alternatives and are definitely useful platforms to communicate. For example, it would be very difficult to meet with someone on the other side of the world that I have similar interests with. Or if I had an urgent message to communicate, going digital is the most efficient way to do this.

However, many of the problems I see in our community stem from the lack of authentic, genuine relationships we can build with our peers.

By creating authentic relationships, we develop compassion, empathy and our ability to communicate effectively (i.e. body language, reading expressions, gauging reactions). This also lends itself to becoming part of a tribe and building resilience.