Reflecting on ‘The Power of Connection’
Originally published on June 26, 2026
When I first learned about “The Power of Connection” event being hosted by Erin Jones and Terry Shaw, my spirit knew immediately, practically automatically, that I needed to be there.
Every time I have attended an event at the ASHHO Cultural Community Center, I have felt a special, love driven energy and a joyous sense of community. Being present in this space again filled me with hope and gave me a craving to come back (especially to eat more Butter Chicken at the Runia Soul Cafe). Trust me, you want to prioritize attending an event there, so take a moment and sign up for the email newsletter so you can stay up to date.
Walking in to the event, I immediately saw my friend Jennifer Shaw and was so grateful to sit by her and the new friends I would make at our table. Before the festivities began, there were many opportunities to mingle and talk with fellow community members. The whole thing felt so organic and human, it was just lovely!
“The Power of Connection” followed a pattern where we would hear inspirational insight and poetry written and spoken by Erin Jones, followed by a song written and performed by Terry Shaw featuring soloist Malachi Jones. On the program were poems like “Butterfly” and “Sisterhood” from Erin Jones’ book, and songs like “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and original compositions including “We Are One,” “There’s A Man",” and “I Say Peace, I Say Love.” Many of these reflected heart breaking moments in our recent history like the murder of George Floyd and Alex Pretti. There were also multiple opportunities and prompts for table discussions, which I cherished.
Unique compared to anything I have experienced, this event was empowering because it brought together such a big and diverse group of people and united us all under common purposes: love, justice, hope, and peace.
Admittedly, I have stopped carrying a notebook with me when I go to events because I found it distracted me from being fully present in the moment. I am grateful for Jones’ insight in providing index cards and markers because wow there was so much to reflect on! What a privilege it is that I get to share these reflections with you today.
Reflections
Before diving deep into the event, Jones helped us consider something I never gave too much thought to before, but feels revolutionary. Our society is keen on creating “safe spaces,” and there is a well meaning heart and intention behind it, but there is a reality that even “safe spaces” are not always going to be safe for everyone because of the consequences of our political climate, bittersweet American history, and society’s varied perspectives on feminism, race, gender and sexuality.
Instead, Erin suggests we create “brave spaces” where people can feel the freedom to be vulnerable, honest, and listened to.
We can create brave spaces everywhere we go by practicing gratitude, bravery ourselves, and taking moments to pause. In sharing these ideas, Jones suggested two simple yet powerful notions:
1). We should not give our energy to people who do not deserve it (or are closed minded).
2). If something you are about to say, text, email, etc… is about showing how “right” you are or is designed to make someone feel small, don’t say it.
Shaw’s music complemented Jones’ message perfectly. Lyrics like “we have to build up the bridges we burn” offered opportunity for deep reflection. When we build up a bridge, we provide encouragement, solidarity, and support. When it’s a bridge we have burned, it requires accountability.
A discussion of the song “We Are One” reminded one of my table mates of a quote they had recently heard: “the most important word in the Constitution is ‘we’.”
It is worthwhile remembering who “we” are. Jones and Shaw reminded us that:
We all have unique gifts, talents, and purposes.
We all can change the world in macro and micro ways regardless of how old or young we are.
We are all people — rich and famous people are just people too! In this way, life should never be a game of comparison.
We all different in our religious and emotional beliefs, but there is an opportunity there to learn from one another. We should not be afraid of different, but embrace it as a way of expanding our horizons and growing.
We all need some form of religious or emotional practice because we all need to take care of our spirits.
We are all looking for someone who is looking for us. We all want to be seen.
With these in mind, a couple questions remain:
How can we be resourceful and use what we have?
How can we express ourselves in positive ways that build community?
I cannot answer these questions for you, but I can tell you that many of the answers are clarified for us the more we invest in our communities, spend time away from technology, and spend time together.
I want to leave you with this one final note from Shaw:
Sometimes our expressions of ourselves comes from our dreams or fantasies.
We may not see peace or hope in the moments we create, but that does not make our creation less valuable — it makes it even more so. World peace and all other positive dreams under the sun can still come true, but we need to be the ones to roll up our sleeves, put in the work, and make it happen.
Just in reading this article, you have taken a first step. Keep walking, keep going, and see where it leads you.