What would you do if two strangers who barely spoke English knocked on your door and asked if they could come in and cook dinner for you? Weird and a little scary right? Well, a young American couple relocated to Mexico and did just that to try to get to know their neighbors. With their limited Spanish, they knocked on doors in their apartment building until a lovely Mexican family took a chance and let them in. What followed was an evening filled with food, laughter, and hilarious struggles as they worked hard to reach across the language barrier and discover a connection. In just a few short hours, they weren’t a bunch of strangers at all; rather, they had become new friends who got to know each other.
Making connections with strangers is the premise of a Youtube channel called Discover Connection which sets out to prove that the most fulfilled life is a life filled with human connection. There are any number of scenarios set up to connect with strangers, people they otherwise wouldn’t meet, or who are simply alone. One scenario was about bringing together a group of strangers for Christmas dinner who were going to be alone on Christmas Day and another was about a surprise birthday party for three random people and all the guests were strangers. And then there’s the sleepover; they actually talked 20 strangers into coming to their house to spend the night! Crazy, right?
But the ideas presented there got me to thinking about how each of us connects with people. Am I making the right connections with my friends, my family, and my neighbors? What would it hurt to reach out to strangers that could benefit from my help: the homeless guy on the street corner, the older lady loading groceries in the trunk of her car, the guy with a flat tire on the side of the road. It could mean finding a new friend, a new opportunity – and if nothing else, just a great sense of helping someone out.
The most fulfilled life is a life filled with human connection and we’re lucky if we have that. But there are a lot of people who don’t, and maybe we need to discover a few more ways to change that. “Can I help you with anything?” A powerful set of words for sure that I’m going to try using more this year.
You might give Discover Connection on Youtube a try. I think you’ll find it inspiring.
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