“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~Buddha
When I first moved to San Francisco, the only friend I knew there told me she hoped I didn’t get too close to her other friends.
At first she told me that it was better for our friendship if we didn’t completely overlap our lives—and then later, she confessed that she was afraid they’d grow closer to me than they were to her.
It was an honest, vulnerable admission, and I empathized with her. We value our close friendships as special and meaningful, and it can feel threatening to see other people create special relationships with them, as well.
I realized then that is an act of generosity when someone goes out of their way to connect you with someone they know. While we all have the opportunity to meet people throughout our daily lives, a common link can instantly turn strangers into friends.
I also realized that there’s something exciting and fulfilling about bringing people together.
When you connect people, they may help each other reach their dreams, or understand each other like no one else, or maybe even fall in love. The possibilities are limitless when people have the chance to open up to someone new.
Who can you connect? People who work in similar fields. People who have similar aspirations. People who share similar views. People who share a hobby or passion. People who are going through something similar in their personal lives. People who might hit off romantically. People who are both new to the same city. People who might challenge each other to grow.
It might be a dinner party, and introductory email, or even just a tweet. The how is less important than than they why: you never know when you introduce two people how they might expand each others’ worlds.
Who can you connect today?
Photo by doug88888
About Lori Deschene
Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others to do the same. You can find her books, including Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal, here and learn more about her eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story, if you’re ready to transform your life and become the person you want to be.
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
I don’t know how you do it but your posts come at the EXACT time that I need them. Actually, when I share them. People that I care about the most come to me with their issues and you always have another version of the right thing to say to them. Thank you so much for this amazing gift you bring to us. xoxoxo
I always liked connecting different people from my life, and connecting to friends of friends. So I can really relate to you, because for me it was quite a shock when I found out that some people didn’t enjoy being connected to other people of my life, or the opposite, some people are quite jealous when I try to approach their friends in social occasions. This for me never made any sense, and some people feel that I am too unattached.
wow, great post. I’ve definitely had experience with this but wish my friend had been as honest and open about it as you friend was! connecting people is an amazing thing and I wish everyone had the mindset to try to be connectors. Great post, as always!
I’m the same way. I like knowing that I introduced two people, and, in that way, contributed to their growth or joy. It’s a nice feeling to be the connector!
Yes, I really appreciated her honesty. It made me less likely to feel angry by the resistance I sensed, and more likely to feel compassionate. I’m glad you enjoyed this post!
Wow that’s wonderful! I love knowing that my posts help people, so thank you!
Very good article Lori 🙂
At one of my birthday dinners a few years ago, I introduced a colleague to my badminton group. They instantly became the bestest of friends, in fact even closer to each other than to me. Not long after the dinner they went on a trip to Japan together. I have to admit I was jealous and felt left out, even a bit used, and sidelined. But now I look back differently – I’m happy for my colleage he found a new (and probably better) bunch of friends. And to me it’s quite an achievement to bring people together who get along so well, which is never an easy thing to do.
Thanks, Jjoh. Sounds like you gave your colleague a wonderful gift. How wonderful for him to have had a friend like you. =)