Good To Be Here.
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
Last week, I had the chance to reconnect with an old friend for lunch. As too often happens, life kept moving us both forward, but the opportunities we had to meaningfully connect with one another had dwindled. After seeing him briefly in December, I was determined to spend more time with him at the start of this year.
So last week, we got together and shared a meal. We sat across from one another in a bustling downtown restaurant, away from our Zoom accounts and digital devices, to simply talk. No agenda. No work. Just time spent together. Because the restaurant was noisy, we had to lean in to hear one other, no longer the urge to reach for a face mask. It felt good to be there, face-to-face and eye-to-eye.
As expected, it felt like not a day had passed since we had seen each other last. We laughed about how good it felt to be together and how that experience of being together just cannot be replicated through technology, no matter how good the connection speed.
It’s good to be here
It’s good to be anywhere
It’s good to be you
It’s good to be me
Good to be young
Good to be old
Good to be home again
Exactly four years this week after the COVID-19 pandemic moved the world into quarantine, these words of musician Keb Mo felt as true as ever. It is, indeed, good to be here.
While the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic are—dare I say—behind us, the effects of COVID are not. Isolation, loneliness, and the lingering effects of the pandemic on people, communities, and society remain present.
While a “no-agenda” lunch with an old friend won’t solve the complexity of problems we face today, it is something—and something particularly important—to help counteract social isolation and build back up social networks. The real kind.
Yes, it’s good to be together. And it’s due time that we take a break from our devices to make it happen.
Have a listen to Keb’ Mo’s song “Good To Be (Home Again)” and see who from your past comes to mind. Make this the day you reach out to them, simply to say hello again.
This post is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
