I’ve written about the gift of time this pandemic has given to all of us, and I’d like to explore that a bit more in this message.
I cannot remember having the opportunity to have so many authentic and personal conversations. My madness prevention exercise is to contact people and to talk to them as just people regardless of where I met them or why we’ve remained in touch. And I’ve also made it a priority to be as present as possible during those chats. Consequently, I’ve learned about family, life challenges, life celebrations and I’ve shared the same from my end of the call. The freedom to just talk without an explicit purpose other than to just care about each other has been so refreshing and energizing.
The social media apps offer us a platform to express our opinions, frustrations and experiences, but those aren’t conversations. You write, you post, and people react. Lather, rinse, repeat… The interaction is delayed, and the expression of a typed and posted word doesn’t carry the feelings of a spoke and heard word. When I talk to people and focus on the exchange of words, the emphasis they place on certain words or syllables there is so much more to process and react to in real time. I realize how much of the time we don’t get to just converse with other human beings. I miss it and am glad to have the chance now to experience it again.
This social distancing is a physical challenge, but don’t let it get you down or make you feel alone. If you feel that way, I am certain many other people you know feel that way, too. Don’t wait, don’t be the one to say no one calls, be proactive and make the effort to connect with someone that will appreciate the thought and effort you made to hear their voice. You will both be better for it.