If you sit back and think about it, everyone you know may seem to be connected to everyone else in a matter of steps.  Someone met someone else who was introduced to someone else, and it went on. Yet, if you think again, you realize that a small number of people are linked to everyone in a few steps, and the rest of us get connected to the world thanks to a special few.

One individual may even turn out to be responsible for a large number of the closest relationships that form your life. This kind of person seems connected to the world and may have a gift for bringing people together. This may be an extrovert with links to different disciplines, settings and groups because of an adventurous or gregarious personality. Whom do you rely on to connect you to other people? Do you consider yourself a connector? Reflect on your interactions in different areas of your life. What do they teach you about yourself and your relationship choices?

Whether or not you realize it, you place conditions on your reality. You have ability to decide what kinds of relationships are unfolding before you, whom you connect with and don't. You can spend time with people who share things in common with you or who don't appeal to you at all. When you experience troubling thoughts, and in turn, create or aggravate troubled relationships, you can learn to question your view of why you've made these choices. Why do you really spend time with each person in your life? Why do you feel connected or disconnected with others? In which ways do you communicate? Tracing reasons for connections or lack of them tells you a lot.

Strained or difficult relationships reveal the same fear: you sense you won't survive or be content without feeling someone's love, acceptance and appreciation. As you trace human connections you've known, and the nature of those you seek, you will learn about your values and aspirations. Are you a person who chooses relationships for appearances and superficial reasons or, do you have other reasons? Vanity and insecurity are revealed by relationships based on appearance. The question is, will you be brave enough to rise above your judgments to perceive and accept love offered all around you? Trace connections in the 'here and now.' It's key to learning who you are.