Why the Word “Connection” Means So Much to Us
Written by: Bryna Campbell & Mike Murawski
“Connection is why we’re here. We are hard wired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.” - Brené Brown
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been thinking a lot about our core mission at Super Nature Adventures. What words, phrases, and ways of thinking articulate how we conceptualize the work we do in our business?
After months of reflection, we’ve concluded that the best word to sum up our vision is “connection.”
Or to put it in question form:
How do we create deeper, more meaningful connections to the world, to nature, and to other people around us through the framework of place-based-thinking and pedagogy?
This ethos has been our guiding force throughout the pandemic - through our work with clients and as we’ve thought about the challenges for parents and kids, created new content, worked with educators, and looked forward to what’s ahead.
“Connection” embodies a sense of relationships to people and place—relationships that are enriched through the process of constant learning through different perspectives.
It is a word we associate with concepts like belonging, kinship, and even wholeness because our connections to others can be the very thing that can keep us feeling grounded.
We also think of the word as intrinsically linked to the concept of caring, because our connections are strengthened by our recognitions to how we shape and are shaped by those around us (past, present, and future).
We often talk about helping kids deepen their connections to nature through the different kinds of creative projects we make for families and clients. We firmly believe connections can have life changing consequences. When a child has a deeper understanding of the world outside themselves, that they are nonetheless agents in shaping, they are given tools to help care for this world.
And perhaps most obviously, connection is also related to the idea of “understanding.” When something really clicks—a concept, an idea, a new way of seeing the world—one feels a deeper sense of connection to the larger world.
“Connection” is central to our commitment to meaningful creative work that resonates with those who experience it. It shapes the way we aspire to work with clients, and to the types of clients we seek to work with.
Here are some other ways that we have been reflecting on the idea of connection over the past few months.
We are all connected. To each other, to the earth, to the past and the future. Whether we want to be or not. No person is alone.
Because we are all connected, how we act in this world affects others around us, and vice versa. This is why the simple act of wearing a mask when you pass by someone matters. It’s a a gesture that communicates the fundamental understanding that we are connected.
Meaningful connections to place, to histories, and to people happen in an environment that fosters learning and growth without shame. Connections grow in a space that encourages curiosity. Likewise, learning and growth are fostered in an environment that is equitable and inclusive. Period.
Connection is also a word that we link to self-care. It has affiliations with kinship, belonging, and wholeness. When a person feels a sense of connection to a place, a history, a community, or (in the case of children) their own parents/teachers, they can feel more grounded.
Kids feel empowered when they are encouraged to become agents of their own knowledge formation. This is a core part of helping kids build meaningful connections.
The “attention economy” of social media, texting, memes, gifs, and 24-hour news has certainly had an impact on the ways in which we connect with each other in today’s world. It is increasingly important that we are conscious of these changes, and aware of how they might create a sense of disconnect (to time, to multi-sensory experiences, to those outside our “network,” to the outdoors) and when they might offer unique opportunities for real, authentic connection.
Forging deeper connections—to a place, person, or new concept—helps build empathy. When we understand that we aren’t alone, our relationship to the world changes. This is one of the most basic reasons why creating deep connections matters so much to us.