CMBOS | SURREAL

by Elizabeth Traynor

It’s fitting that my topic for my January 2019 Creative Mornings talk was “surreal.” Because that’s exactly what my experience was on Friday, January 25.

The passion in the room at Impact Hub was evident even before I began my talk, but as I spoke, I could feel it in the air: reverberating throughout the room, building and uniting all of us. And while I was the one onstage, the passion wasn’t mine. It was all of yours.

I spoke about how there is an appetite for going beyond the highlight reels with each other. There’s an appetite for real, an appetite for authentic and an appetite for messy. Life is often beautifully, frustratingly messy. But too often, we hide those pockets of our lives neatly behind filters, curated content and witty captions.

We forget that there is an appetite for a real, human connection.

In my talk, I shared that there is a power inside all of us that is born when we share our stories when we share our complicated, hidden experiences. I shared that the power is internal – that one finds oneself becoming stronger through pulling back the curtain and beginning the conversation.

I almost made it sound like this was a benefit to be entirely reaped by the singular person. That sharing the moments beyond our personal highlight reel was a moment of opportunity, a moment of strength, just for us.

But the real power here lies in human connection. I was reminded of that in the minutes after my talk when so many of you approached me as I stood at the front of the room. Over and over again, you pulled me aside to share your personal, hidden triumphs over pain: the injuries you’d fought through. The friends and family you’d lost. The heartbreaks you’d suffered.

It was incredibly humbling, connecting with all of you. And it reminded me of the most important lesson I learned throughout my fight to recover my strength: that there are similar fights raging within nearly all of us. That we all have an incredible, powerful story to share.

The appetite for human connection is real. The power of what happens after we connect is surreal.

At the end of January’s talk, you were all given some homework. And even if you’re out of school, I urge you to complete it: take a moment and share something surreal with someone in your life. It can be as simple as telling a friend in confidence, or as big as writing about it and posting it online. (And if you do, tag me and Creative Mornings Boston in the photo!)

The connection that happens next will take your breath away.