What If the Meaning Is in the Connection?

One of my favourite things about writing is the moment when two things I hadn't consciously connected suddenly find each other.

An experience from years ago connects to something I'm thinking about today. A sentence I've written reminds me of a conversation. An idea I've had suddenly makes more sense when another idea arrives.

Neither one necessarily changed. I saw the relationship between them.

This is one reason we don't always need to rush to decide what an idea means. Nothing has meaning except the meaning we give it. And sometimes that meaning changes as new connections appear. The deeper meaning may not be inside the original idea at all. It may be in what it eventually connects to.

Choose one thought you've been carrying and begin with the words, “This makes me think about...” Don't decide where you're going. Follow the connection and notice where it takes you.

When do unexpected connections between ideas tend to find you?

While I’m writing

While I’m talking with someone

While I’m reading or listening to something

When I’m doing something completely unrelated

They just seem to arrive

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What If the Meaning Is in the Connection?