I happened upon a podcast awhile ago that deeply inspired me. It was a conversation between widely acclaimed author and speaker Dr. Brene Brown and Dr. Vivek Murthy, recently reappointed as Surgeon General of the United States. During his first term as Surgeon General, Dr. Murthy traveled throughout the US and interviewed people about their health challenges. He discovered that the most prevalent issue among those he interviewed was a sense of disconnection and isolation. Dr. Murthy has recently published a book titled Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World.

In the podcast, Murthy mentioned approaching interactions with others with the intent to seek meaningful connection rather than validation for himself. He found those exchanges to be satisfying and to lead to healthy relationships. 

This reminded me of a comment a friend shared several years ago that has really stayed with me. She had been preparing for some business meetings where she would be speaking about topics that were very close to her heart. But she felt others might have trouble understanding, and she was feeling anxious, concerned that these conversations might be uncomfortable and difficult. As she prayed to prepare for these meetings, she had the thought that there is no awkwardness in Love.