There’s a lot going on in the world these days.
USA coming oh-so-close to winning the 2011 Women’s World Cup. News of the World phone hacking scandal. The death of Osama bin Laden. The economy. The release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Combine that with what people are doing and thinking about in their own lives.
Many are jobless. Many more have jobs and are working hard to become better. Or richer. Or to get more responsibility.
Maybe this isn’t you. Maybe you’re just concerned with getting food on the table. Maybe you’re just trying to figure out how to pay rent, or how to get hired.
Or maybe you have a job. You’re content. Nothing feels wrong, yet nothing feels great. It just is. And you’re fine with that, or not.
Regardless of who you most identify with, you’re doing something on a day-to-day basis, even if it’s “nothing”. And I’m guessing you spend a considerable amount of time doing it.
Like with everything, there’s always a cost.
I would just like to encourage you to spend more time enriching your relationships with others; especially those whom you care most about.
And I think doing that involves improving your face-to-face communication skills with these people.
Talk to them. Ask them what they’re feeling and why they’re feeling that way. Take time to really understand their problems. Actively listen to them. Encourage them. Make sure they know that they can come to you for anything. And then be there for them when they do. Challenge them. Delight them.
Just care deeply for them.
I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, nor is it going to work perfectly all of the time.
But I think at the end of the day, if the people you want to have love you, do love you, then you’ve got the most important thing in life that’s within your control.
As the adage goes: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.”
If you don’t know where to start, perhaps you could go give them a big hug. Or two.
The trick is to keep doing it.