It was a Friday. After spending large amounts of time inside the house, I was dying to escape and rejoin the world outside. However, I find myself in my typical situation: I am single, most of my friends are in relationships….who is available? It has been an effort of mine not to spend so much time alone as it is very easy for me to do. A friend and I decided to rendezvous at a local museum. Pictures and laughter were followed by a late lunch. Text messages and phone calls reminded us that other people wanted to escape the house as well. We ended up on the beach looking at the full moon. Many thoughts entered my mind.
If I wanted to get out of the house, and my friend wanted to get out of the house, and both of us received other notifications from others that wanted to get out, what is going on where we are so disconnected? Has FB lost its allure? Did the new season on NETFLIX wear thin? Are we finally seeking meaningful conversations and actual connections with other human beings that sustain beyond a five minute textversation? When did we get to the point that our lives were so busy that a basic human connection got lost in the mix?
A few months ago, I made it a point of calling people instead of texting them. Friends immediately answered the phone and the reactions ran the gamut: What happened? What a pleasant surprise. Is this something that I need to do again? These reactions happened because I used to be a talking person and then fell into the habit of texting everything. Why? It is easier to do, and you do not have to interrupt anything; you do not actually have to speak to anyone and can continue liking posts on FB. While I do snail mail actual cards, and write letters in pen, perhaps there are other ways that people would love to remember that we do need each other.