Welcome to another installment of Today’s Ollieism.  These are little nuggets of simple wisdom from the mind of Ollie Bug, (an approximately six year old) Spider of Adventure living in the faraway and fantastic Moonwater Meadow (which is right under your nose).

Today’s Ollieism:

Nothing Beats A Mug Of Hot Chocolate Shared With Friends

Under-think this because it’s as uncomplicated as it gets.  Ollie lives the fairly unencumbered life of a happy child (most of the time). He and his friends aren’t concerned with the news of the day or all the stuff that makes adults crazy.  It’s all just nonsensical chatter to him, much like the commercials you sit though just before the previews and movie starts.  Can you remember any of that?

Speaking of adults, it’s very easy for us to dismiss the innocent musings of the simple child-like mind.    However, it would be our mistake in doing so.

Think about it, all this technology spinning around us is supposed to make everything easier.  Maybe it does, I’m not sure.  I don’t really need my refrigerator to tell me I’m low on milk nor do I need to be up-to-the-second tethered to my social media channels.  Alas…

More time and tech isolates us from the organic world around us.

Don’t believe me?  Look up from your phone right now and see how many people almost get themselves killed crossing the street staring into a screen.

Connections to self, friends and community suffer.  This is no secret reveal here.  There’s tons of data on this.

So when do we listen?

When does it become more important to disconnect form the plastic and reconnect with the

organic?

Back to Ollie and all children, really.  What do children want?  They want to play with their friends, engage with the people and the world around them.  And take naps.

A mug of hot chocolate with friends isn’t Netflix and chill, it isn’t about hustle, grind, flow and all those other idiotic expressions we use to make it seem like we’re in the middle of something huge.  Everyone is busy being busy.  Everyone is just about to make it big.

Breaking News:  No, you’re not that busy and no, you’re not about to become pseudo-important to a bunch of strangers on social media who can’t wait to see where you are or what you’re doing.  What’s more, there are already people in your life to whom you are important and maybe they’d like to spend time with you.

Be important to the people who count most, the ones who continue to hold you up and support and love you.    They could be your family and/or your friends.  Sometimes those two terms are synonymous.  Some of us create better families than we were born with.  Whatever, you know what I mean.

Nothing is more important than the connections we make, nourish and keep. They feed us, they make us whole and they hold us up in the best and worst of times.

Nothing beats a mug of hot chocolate shared with friends.

Nope, nothing I can think of anyways…

Tom Serafini is a writer, illustrator, motivator of dreamers and sometime stand-up comedian residing in Brooklyn, New York.  His first illustrated picture book, Ollie Bug and the Icky Sticky Thing From Space, will be funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign coming soon.  It’s on the list.