How My Anger Turned Into Connection

Every year around this time I choose an intention word that is going to help me stay focused and help define my experiences for the New Year. Initially, I chose connection because I get pulled in so many directions that I feel I’m just putting out fires instead of being fully present and connecting. As I thought about it more, however, I found myself being seduced by the word persevere. Then, this happened:

FACEBOOK POST
"Dena Gould
December 12, 2017 at 8:02am ·
I am pissed! Seriously pissed! I had just dropped my children off at school and I noticed a single car that was obviously in an accident on the side of the road. A man is passed out in the driver's seat blood-splattered. Cars are just driving by him like it's nothing. I am the only person to stop. What the hell is wrong with humans? Where is the empathy? He wakes up as I approach him and tries to drive off. He tells me that he has to get to work. That he can't afford to be late to work. I have to try to keep him calm and tell him that his car is leaking liquid that he can't go anywhere and he is so frustrated and in dire straights that it completely breaks my heart. All he wants to do is get to work. Finally a taxi driver pulls over and states that he's called for help. And then another beautiful single woman pulls over and gets out of her vehicle and helps me to calm him. We have to work together to attempt to get him to even sit down because he's in shock. Emergency help arrives and they're trying to get him to go to the hospital and he's telling them no, he's fine, he's got to get to work but he obviously needs stitches on the back of his head. I'm just imagining all the thoughts going through his head about how much all of this is going to cost him. It breaks my heart that we live in a society where people are afraid to even go to the hospital to receive help because of the debt they know that it will cause. This just brings up my anger about the greed. No one should have to feel this way in America. Thank you for letting me have my meltdown. Love and light peeps

Shout out to the other women that helped. We hugged and celebrated humans before we parted ways.."


I was just venting on social media because I was, well, pissed. What I didn’t expect was the response I received― more than 200 people acknowledged it and almost 100 commented . I have never had a response like this to any of my personal posts. It was completely overwhelming and came as a huge awakening: I am not the only person feeling a little desperate for connection these days.

The very next day I went for a run. Ever since I was young, I play this game where I smile and say hello to everyone that crosses my path to see who will respond. On this particular day, every single smile was returned. This rarely happens! What’s even rarer is that I stopped three separate times to connect with three different people. I would never have stopped in the past, partly because I wear a running tracker and my ego won’t allow it. But this run was complete magic. I changed my perception and therefore was much more open to authentic connection. In fact, I attracted it. Yes, I teach this stuff (insert smile) but sometimes even I can forget how powerful it can be.

Saying it sounds like common sense, but feeling it is completely different. When you focus on your intention word for the year, remember that you need to also change your perception. The goal is for you to put it out there in the universe and not worry about how it will come back to you. For example, if your word is happy you don’t need to go out into the world and try to make everyone happy. Instead, just feel the happiness within yourself first, and then see how it spreads to everyone around you. If your word is light, focus on how you want to feel when all the experiences you come across are light and beautiful.

Get very clear on how your intention word feels so that you are conscious of when you are not it its pattern. Then you can make the choice to go back to it.