Rev. Colleen Irwin

Disconnection Is Profitable — But Spirit Calls Us to Reconnect

My husband often says, “Disconnection is profitable.” It’s one of those statements that lingers in the air. The more I sit with it, the more I see it everywhere.

Think about it: Every household now needs to own every tool, every appliance, every service. This isn’t because we use them daily, but because we’ve lost something simple and sacred—the ability to ask our neighbor to borrow it. We’ve been taught that self-sufficiency is strength; that asking is weakness; that needing others is a flaw.

Disconnection Benefits Who?

Who truly benefits from our disconnection? It’s a lie sold to us for someone else’s gain. Disconnection sells us convenience, ownership, and control. The cost, however, is staggering: community, compassion, a shared humanity.

Spirit did not design us to go it alone. We are meant to live in rhythm with others—to offer a hand, a smile, a moment of grace. To knock on a door, not to sell something, but to connect, truly.

When I think about the world we’re building—the rising loneliness, the pervasive anxiety, the performative social media—I realize that so much of our spiritual suffering stems from this very thing: disconnection. We are separated not only from one another, but from our essence, our Source, and from the earth beneath our feet.

This isn’t a call to nostalgia or a simplistic return to “simpler times.” This is a profound call to Spirit. A powerful reminder that we belong to each other, a sacred calling rooted in a higher purpose or divine intention, far beyond mere social interaction.

So How Do We Begin to Shift?

We begin by noticing. Where have we accepted isolation as normal? Where have we forgotten that giving and receiving are sacred acts? Then we take one brave step toward connection: perhaps a phone call where we truly listen, a handwritten note that bridges a silent gap, a shared meal where stories are exchanged and laughter echoes, or a prayer offered with someone else specifically in mind.

Instead of getting angry about the neglected Trolley Path behind our home, we started to do something about it. In doing so, we engage with neighbors and build relationships. One wheelbarrow of weeds at a time, we began to reclaim both the path and our sense of community.

Because community isn’t just nice; it’s absolutely necessary. It’s sacred. It’s how we remember who we really are: not as isolated individuals, but as souls meant to walk each other home.

That truth rose to the surface for me during the recent No Kings protests. The energy in the streets, the shared breath of people standing together for something greater—it reminded me that Spirit does not call us to build fortresses. Spirit calls us to build bridges. It calls us back to each other. Not in spite of our differences, but because of them.

In a world where disconnection is profitable, connection becomes a sacred act of resistance.  What small act of connection will you choose today?