The Magic Of Connection

By; Heather Blanchard

I follow a business coach and author named Marie Forleo. She’s a funny, warm business guru who encourages clients to think out of the box and build successful businesses based on creativity and passion. She recently wrote about a week-long yoga retreat she took in Sicily, where she said “The food, art, books, decor, linens, views — everything was beyond. But it was the vibe…the energy…the PEOPLE who worked there who made the real magic.They were funny and warm. Present. Kind. Playful. And none of it felt forced.”

She said “it was the kind of visceral, human connection she needed and didn’t even know it. So when she met the owner, she asked, “How did you build such an amazing team?” His reply: “I don’t hire professionals. I hire regular people with no training who believe in making others feel welcome.”

On this retreat, there was a nonna – a grandmother who was doing all the cooking. She wasn’t a professionally trained chef, she was a native who poured love into her food. Sidebar here – if you haven’t seen the movie Nonnas about a Michelin-Starred long-running restaurant in New York that employes only grandmothers to cook, put it on your watchlist.

The success of any business is real people with real passion who care about what they do. But it’s also the key to success in your personal life. If you care for and treasure the people, places and things you love, joy is inevitable.

In a world that’s inundated with fake news, social media that only highlights the good stuff and online personal and working relationships with people we’ve never met face to face, we are craving connection now just as much as we did when the world paused five years ago. You can find synergy and connection in our sacred space. It isn’t just about being in a room with others—it’s about being fully present, heart open, breath aligned. In yoga, we connect to our breath, our bodies, to each other and to something greater. When we move and hold space together, we remember we’re not meant to do life alone.

Think about other places you feel this. Where else can you offer your true, authentic, unedited self to others? Your gifts, your passion, your humor, your light. Don’t get so busy doing that you aren’t connecting with others. Every day. Because that’s why we’re here. Whether it’s a deep conversation with a friend, a shared laugh with a colleague, or a simple “I see you” moment in passing — connection grounds us, lifts us, and reminds us we belong.

In a world that moves fast, pause to reach out.

💬 Call someone.

💛 Make eye contact.

🤝 Share your truth.

Because every connection is like a dose of good medicine, and every connection is a mirror — reflecting not just who we are, but who we can become.

XOXO, Heather