"desmos" – a small study on the topic of connection

I only recently learned this Greek word "δεσμός / desmos". There is a similar one called "σύνδεση / sindesi" which, on the surface, both mean "connection". However, the word desmos goes much deeper; it relates more to things like interpersonal connections or bonds that you simply do not just let go of. Isn't it somehow cool that there are multiple words for one concept? And multiple meanings for one term? Although it can also be super annoying when you are learning a new language haha. I think out of my 10 lives, I have already lost 7 on my way to learning Greek. But step by step.

The word connection has always interested me because it is so versatile.

You are connected to the world; you are part of this unbreakable bond and you always will be. Even if we live in a time where it often feels to me as if human beings are distancing themselves not only from themselves, but also from the world, I believe that the connection is still there. In every single one of us. There are so many forms of connection, and there are bonds that you yourself might not even understand, as they go beyond space and distance. And most of them you cannot understand if you think with your head, because certain connections go deeper than logic could ever dive. Maybe that old saying is true: "one sees clearly only with the heart". And maybe it would also be quite good to nurture one's own connection to it.

You can feel connected, really deeply connected to the world. You can feel grief when your houseplant dies, you can feel anger when the forests burn. You are thrilled every single time you breathe in the fresh air after a rainstorm. You feel true love when your dog greets you every day as if you had been gone for a year. You feel the genuine connection of your purring cat lying next to you. You feel warmth in the wise and heartfelt words of your grandmother. These are all deep connections that go beyond the ones where you would simply "pull the plug". At least as I see it from my understanding.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about such connections and realizing how unbound such a deep connection can actually be. Isn't that contradictory somehow? Unbound in a connection? Or does it show precisely what it is? A bound connection? And do we view this as something negative or positive? Does one even need to judge it?

The deepest connections I have been able to experience in my life so far were those tied to nothing. The ones that came without expectations and still remain that way. They are the ones where you realize that you are simply allowed to be in your most authentic way, and the other side, whether human, animal, plant, etc., takes you exactly as you are. 

I also see this connectedness in the fact that there are people with whom you instantly feel a connection, and it often seems super illogical to you. Especially when you haven't even met the person in real life and maybe only know them from a distance. Perhaps that is then much more a connection to a part of yourself that is reflected in that person. Especially then, I tend to question these connections and wonder if I, being the way I am towards that person, am too much or too close. An insecurity stemming from times when I was still walking on cloud tops as if on tiptoes, so as not to trample them.

There are many moments when people are too much for me, but when I meet people with whom I feel at home, I would open every door and every window, yes, even scrub the fireplace squeaky clean so they could somehow come inside. Then a lovely tea is waiting on the table or aromatically fragrant coffee, it is warm and inviting, and it is real. Yes, with connections like these, I am real. And the most valuable thing about it is that it is just so unbound.

Maybe you know this feeling of such a connection. And maybe you are surrounded by it, which would be wonderful.

Ultimately, deep connectedness is perhaps always intertwined with true gratitude. From those two, love then results. And maybe it is then also easier to understand that connectedness is free from space and time. 

Completely unbound.

Thank you so much for reading!

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