The “Magic of Connections” illustration is a means of untangling parts of the knot connections and relationships in my life and attempts to demonstrate how building a network of like-minded people can change the direction of your life. Wherever you live, there are people who play the role of convener. If you are not that person in your community right now, find the people who are and join their things.

At one point in my life, I was going to become a hermit. I planned to live in my tiny house alone with my cat and dog and focus on my life’s work. I had just ended things with my partner of nearly two years and was feeling a mix of frustration and sadness. I kept asking myself how I could be thirty-five years old and still have not figured out relationships…

Initially, the goal of my project was a bit nebulous, I didn’t even call it a project at the time. I only knew I needed to figure out a few key things: Do I simplify my life like I did with my tiny home and remove love completely from the picture? Do I let love in but only if it’s with a purpose-driven partner like myself? Or was there someplace I could meet in the middle, totally outside the norms of stereotypical relationships that I hadn’t discovered yet? I made a pact with myself not to get into any other relationships, small or large, until I knew the answer.