The Art of Human Connection
can you remember the last day
of your senior year of high school
maybe a recent or a distant memory in
your mind
now that you start to think about it you
might be remembering somebody
who would have been the last time you’d
ever see them again
but you used to see them every day isn’t
it funny
how people can just come in and out of
your life like that
my last day of my senior year our
teachers took the time to put
small affirmations for our last day of
our high school career
today’s last day make it one that you’ll
never forget
little did i know how much that would
start ringing so true
it would become one that i would never
forget
james was quiet gosh that poor guy
his locker was directly in front of mine
and every morning i’d greet him with
way too much enthusiasm for seven
o’clock in the morning
hey james good morning
how’s it going today twitch she’d always
laugh and say
oh ash it’s going great thank you so
much for asking
never really knew what i was doing over
the four years that james stood in front
of me every day
until that last day of our senior year
in fact be the last time i ever opened
my locker again
and i was welcomed with a note crammed
in the top slot
intrigued i took the note
opened it read it
and tears began to well in my eyes
it read ashley
really like to thank you for your years
of kindness that you extended to me
i was going to commit suicide our
sophomore year
but it was knowing that you would be
there the next day to say hello
was all that i needed to get through my
hard times
best of luck in all you do james
learn a really important lesson at 18
years old that day
connect connect with the person
in front of you it doesn’t matter if
you’re the best of friends
if you have a single thing in common
acknowledge their presence
and be present for them
once i learn the power of a hello
over the years i got to thinking how how
can i ingrain myself
to go deeper and to form authentic
relationships within my own community
we moved to breckenridge in the summer
of 2017 and our daughter was only a year
old at the time
i thought gosh got to make some friends
so i started a free workout group for
moms and their babies
and it was here that i was connected to
a woman that i’ve never had the
opportunity of connecting with
until now the mountain mama
and in case you don’t know who she is
let me tell you a little bit about her
she’s the one with a different grit
about her
she is so raw and authentic and she
isn’t shaken by the elements or the way
that her hair looks
and her heart’s complete with the
mountains
she’s the kind that can travel alone but
thrives
as a whole over the summer months we’d
have the most fun running up and down
these mountains of wrecking ridge
and zooming past tourists on main street
with our babies in our strollers
we even made it to the front page of the
summit daily
and that was so much fun she had a great
time
bringing this group of women together
solidified the need
for connection in the similarities that
we so often try to accomplish on our own
what i learned from the community level
of the mountain mamas
was the importance of time and space
because ask any mom it’s not like we
have time
we can give you a thousand excuses why
we can’t do something
but we ultimately knew that this was
important and we were present for each
other
and we showed up and we cheered each
other on every day
have you ever thought about that with
your friend group
how did you get there organic community
connections
are the heartbeat of what makes a
community thrive as a whole
how can you become a part of your
community’s heartbeat by ways of filling
the connection gaps
better yet how can you challenge
yourself
to trying something that maybe horrifies
you
and it opens your heart to connecting
with someone that can help fill that gap
in your life
though i was able to get creative with
my friend group
there was another area of my life that
was also needing me filled
and that was creativity and come to find
out it was needed in our community as
well
a space where you could ultimately
create art
and not feel like there was going to be
a grade slapped on the end of it
or feeling judged for how your project
turned out because ultimately it was
yours
so in the summer of 20 2018
the sunny setup studio was born a safe
space
for people in the community to come and
create artwork together
and my daughter and i had the most fun
finding new friendships in this space
and
one day i was getting her station ready
and i put her
paint on her plate and i saw she
instantly put her hands
in the paint and then all over her
canvas
and she looked at her hands back of the
canvas
and then over to the wall and i thought
here we go and any mom in their right
mind would be
horrified at the thought of their
two-year-old with pain-filled hands
felining to our stark white walls
but instead of being upset i became
inspired
i thought what if we all do this
what if everybody who comes to share a
piece of their heart and art with us
leaves their handprint behind to become
a part of a bigger story
so that when they leave they come back
and they find themselves still here
fast forward to today the studio’s side
is filled
floor to ceiling with hand friends from
people
of every age every ability
and every walk of life one of my
favorite handprints
is smack dab in the middle of the
ceiling
it’s a little girl from kuwait and she
painted her hand to look like the flag
of her home country i just have to stop
and think
my gosh that a little 700 square foot
art
studio on main street frisco colorado
has touched the lives from people all
over the world
simply because we have allowed a time
and space for it to happen
and i can’t help but to think that the
studio has become my heart work
and what i’ve learned on the worldwide
level
of the studio of connection is that it
starts right here
starts in our own backyard and it starts
with you
kindness love acceptance joy happiness
whatever you carry with you becomes a
ripple effect
and it touches every person that you
touch in their life
and it’ll travel through them for
wherever they end up going
and it’s through these very distinct
life experiences
that i’ve learned that i’ve been gifted
with the art of human connection and
making people feel alive
and i can’t help but to think of james
and how he’s still alive and thriving to
this day
and building into his life’s purpose
greater than he ever could have imagined
for himself
and how the mountain mamas taught me so
much about grit
that when there’s hard times in my life
i’m able to take those lessons and know
that i’m going to be able to make it
through
and that the studio has become the space
where people can find their ultimate
happiness and joy
and take it back home with them to
spread throughout their own communities
and just as my teachers did on my last
day of my senior year of high school
i’m going to leave you with your quote
on the wall
it’s one of my favorites from howard
thurman he’s so beautifully said
do not ask what the world needs ask
instead
what makes you come alive and then go
and do that
because what the world needs is people
who have come alive
[Applause]