🎷 Today is International Jazz Day — At Living By The Compass, we honor the rhythm that shaped innovation: creativity, community, and bold improvisation.
“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.”
— Maya Angelou
Estimated Reading Time: 5-7 minutes
🧭 Author’s Note
This Compass Point is the connective tissue of the Living By The Compass journey. Connection isn’t just something we stumble upon — it’s a deep necessity for emotional well-being, personal direction, and resilience. This is a heart-to-heart about the invisible bridges that carry us when we can’t carry ourselves.
Glad you’re here.
🧭 Born Between the Acts
I was born in February 1965.
Right after the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
and just before the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
a few years before the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Three landmark moments that signaled enormous cultural shifts — yet between those “acts” of history, there was the quiet living of people like me: Born into brokenness, surrounded by something sacred.
I didn’t come from stability. But the neighborhood saw me — and they stepped up. Not with judgment. Not with pity.
Just presence, protection, and fierce, everyday love.
My grandparents were the center of it all.
Their home was my sanctuary — filled with jazz, soul food, laughter, and the soft power of people who show up without needing applause.
Those early bonds became my first compass.
They taught me that being seen is what gives a soul shape. That connection isn’t just emotional — it’s how we survive.
🧭 The Evolution of Connection
As I grew, the world shifted. Communities that once stood as fortresses began to fray under the slow grind of “progress.”
New forms of connection found me: the brotherhood of the military, the partnerships of professional life, the chosen families that form when shared mission forges deeper bonds than blood.
Each season of life demanded new anchors — people who reminded me who I was when the world wanted me to forget.
Connection kept me socially nourished, emotionally vibrant, and spiritually alive.
It wasn’t a luxury. It was the way I stayed human.
🧭 When Connection Heals
And when tragedy struck — when I lost my son, Cameron Reynard Rinehart —
it was connection that allowed healing to begin.
Not the kind that fixes or explains — the kind that sits beside you in the dark and simply says: “You are not alone.”
Beautiful young men, friends, and soul-companions crossed my path. Not to replace what was lost — nothing could. But to bear witness, to offer balm, to tether me back to the living when grief threatened to sever everything.
True connection doesn’t erase the wound. It becomes the thread that stitches life back together.
🧭 The Science Behind Connection
Modern neuroscience confirms what ancient wisdom has always known.
According to Dr. Matthew Lieberman, a leading social neuroscientist, our need to connect is as fundamental as our need for food and water. His research shows that social pain — like loneliness or rejection — activates the same brain regions as physical pain.
Connection:
- Strengthens emotional resilience
- Reduces stress hormones like cortisol
- Boosts immune function
- Increases life expectancy
Simply put: Connection keeps us alive — not just socially, but biologically.
🧭 A Little Exercise We Can Do Together
Take a moment. Close your eyes. Breathe.
Now ask yourself:
- Who are your waypoints?
- Who anchors you when life feels adrift?
- Who builds bridges for you when you can’t find the way?
- Who has been a healer to your hidden wounds?
Write their names down.
Hold them close in your heart.
These souls are not accidents.
They are your compass points.
🧭 A Bridge of Reflection
We are not meant to do this alone. We are stitched into each other, soul to soul, heart to heart.
In a world that often demands independence, real strength comes from choosing interdependence.
Connection is not weakness. It is wisdom.
🧭 Looking Ahead
Next, we’ll explore Health & Vitality — because to honor the connections we cherish, we must also tend to the vessel that carries us: our bodies, our minds, our very breath.
🧭 Join the Compass Community
I believe we navigate life better together. When you join our community, you’ll receive:
- Weekly Compass Points: Brief reflections to help you stay oriented
- Early Access: Be the first to receive new tools and resources
- Connection: Join conversations with others on similar journeys
📩 Join the Compass Community Here
Your story matters, and I’d love to hear it.
🧭 A Bit About Me
I’m Eric “Jazz” Rinehart — a veteran, tech entrepreneur, business strategist, and educator with a background spanning technology, healthcare, consulting, and business development.
Beyond my professional journey, my insights are shaped by deeply personal experiences — including navigating the loss of a child, evolving from traditional religiosity to a spiritually grounded philosophy, and continuously reinventing myself through life’s biggest challenges.
Through Living By The Compass, I’m sharing what I’ve learned about navigating life with clarity, purpose, and resilience — not because I have all the answers, but because I believe we each carry wisdom worth sharing.
“True freedom comes not from having no broken pieces, but from transforming those pieces into a mosaic of wisdom and compassion.”