Connectivity

Connectivity

I was busy this week and thinking about what to write.  What I was busy with became the topic of this post.  Connecting.   It doesn’t matter if you are related, work with, play with, talk to…If you do not take the time to reach out and connect, those relationships will wither and maybe even die on the un-watered vine.  I had lived the last many years somewhat isolated from friends and family.  What I learned --- when you are not physically close, you have to take a lot of time writing or calling to maintain and deepen those relationships.  If you are not connecting, those relationships cannot flourish.  Since I have moved closer to my family and friends, my connections have improved.  I now play a regular tennis game with my oldest son; I speak frequently to my daughter (mother of 4); I speak multiple times to my younger son and daughter; I played and won a tennis tournament with my granddaughter; I have connected with old business partners and now serve on a valuable research board.  You might think, of course, I have improved my connection with those people because I am physically close to them.  However, the surprising part is that I am closer to my friends and family that live many miles from me?  Many are kind enough to write through my blog, and that has heightened my attention to recognize the time that passes between phone calls or messages.  I am more cognizant of the important people in my life and the importance of keeping the conversation going.  When there are long gaps in communication something else fills that void.  Texting and email are “old school”,  replaced by Instagram, Twitter, etc., but the value of in-person or voice communication is still the most effective way to expose your true feelings.  To protect our fragile egos, we have developed all sorts of communication venues that will either mask our feelings or give us the strength to express them without retribution.  The extraordinary effort by my friends and relatives to stay in contact has given me a gift of infinite value.  To be sure, it is a mutual effort.  The result has been a full understanding of our lives, our issues, and problems but most of all it demonstrates every day how much we care about each other.   I write to express feelings but the human voice is still the most powerful.  When I hear your voice, I feel your happiness and your pain.  I am honoring the effort we make to communicate directly.  To feel the happiness and the sadness through your voice is the direct route to the heart.  Never forget that the keyboard is like negotiating through a third party it mutes my feelings.

For all those that make an effort to stay connected --- thank you.

With love

Fred