Leather and Lace

My wife introduced me to this song while we were dating.  It ended up being our wedding song.  “Leather and Lace” is a duet between Stevie Nicks and Don Henley.  It makes sense that this would be my eventual wedding song since another Stevie Nicks duet “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” seemed to be the anthem of my dating life.  The song is a back and forth of accepting ones own shortcomings and relying on the strength of the other.

We are an extremely social animal.  Our complete domination of the planet is testament to the extreme power of our ability to relate to one another.  Just like most other creatures our very survival as a species is dependent upon the forming of unions that allow us to flourish.  Our progress as individuals and as a society is based heavily on our interaction with others.  At one point in history, our world was only directly influenced by the people in our family or our tribe or town.   Today it is possible to reach the other side of the earth instantaneously to learn from someone whose world is physically as far from yours as possible.  This grasp has innumerable positive applications.  The problem is that this grasp also allows people to view themselves as a powerful individual.  Often our enhanced ability to connect is shunned in favor of an ability to attack.

In many ways we (humans) need to step back in order to go forward.  Our survival (yep survival) is dependent upon our ability to connect and learn.  We have more knowledge and resources available to us than any other time in history.  It is time to use those resources to become more human again.  Connecting with other people is one of the things we do best.  Now we need to revert back to a deeper level than status updates that we’ve become so comfortable with.  In the last five years of his life it is estimated that former President Theodore Roosevelt wrote 2,500 letters to family, friends and other correspondents.  That’s just over a letter every day.  When was the last time that you put that kind of care into your relationships?  It is the deliberate act of reaching out in order to connect rather than to just be in contact.  Be willing to connect with others in order that you might take on some of their leather or lace.