Whoever thought just how much we took our dates with our friends for granted. I wonder how many of us would have forced ourselves to meet up with that friend if we only would have known how that seemingly simple pleasure got taken away. For me I never imagined a world where the powers that be prevented me from physical touch and human interaction with those that I loved most, but here we are. We are creatures of habit that don’t like to be told what to do and for all intents and purposes will resist the things that feel unnatural and do what suits is best. There is a reason we gravitate towards city centers because they are the lifeline of our communities and at its heart it is rare to feel alone, although some people do.

We are so lucky to live in a time where we can pick up a phone, fire off an email or even drive to those that you love. So often though we chose the course of less physical intimacy and opt for checking on social media updates and gossip from friends. I can count on one hand the amount of times an “old friend” has reached out due to a deep caring interest more than likely a case of the lonelies has taken root and I was the only person on-line. Sure I love the human interaction but sonething feels incredibly superficial at 3 in the morning and there is only so much willing I am able to invest at the time.

One of my favourite memories growing up was going to the post office to check our postal box. My Grandmother and I used to write each other letters and to this day there is no feeling in the world then a perfectly penned letter. In saying all this I think I will take the time to pen a letter to a friend as there is no feeling like receiving something in the mail. Now if only I can find her address my day will be set for day two of the mental health challenge. I am guilty of getting too distracted in my day too reach out to the friends. It’s not my intentions. We just created a world where personal connections have moved to the wayside because there is no room for two in this hampster wheel of life we find ourselves in.

There is a saying that friends come into our lives for a reason, season or a lifetime and as much as we try to resist it there is nothing more true. Most of my friendships have been reason bond has I found along the way those friendships taught me something. They opened up my eyes to just how malicious one can be when one is obsessed with number one. I have always thought every life was valuable at least to me. To listen to others, who didn’t get their way, speak of other beings like their existence is worth nothing will always break. We all have our journey, we all have a story. Who are we to interject and try to rewrite the outcome just because we don’t like the main characters? We are all the stars of our own productions and deserve to be treated with unconditional love and respect.

Connecting with somebody who loves us restablishes and reminds us of our place in the world. Who doesn’t like remembering times of laughter and a place in time where we felt carefree. There will be a time, if we are lucky, that all we have is our memories to comfort us so we need to live our best lives and make it all count. You don’t know just how lonely an existence can be until you burn down your last bridge and there is nobody left standing, noone to hold your hand. We let life wind itself on our littlest finger turning it purple till we take our last breaths. How do we determine what is important? How do we manage our time more efficiently reaching out to those who have always had our back? You think we would have more time for each other now that we aren’t forced to communicate after riding hours on horseback yet here we are, barwly making ends meet with no extra tume to spare.

With so many mediums out there for us to reach out you think it is something all of us can do. We could get up earlier to start our day to catch up on correspondence, daily tasks or just be alive to breathe. Being able to watch the world wake up after a blissful nights sleep is one of the richest gifts we could ever receive. Gently warming us to the idea and all the new awakenings that a promise of a new day begins. I remember when leaving the house meant nobody could reach you, no distractions to keep you from the tasks at hand. No pre conceived notions or ideas or outside influences trying to convince us that our day is trivial and to do something else. Heck I used to just show up randomly at friends houses to see what they were doing and to see if they wanted to hang out. Sure there may have been an earlier warning with a phone call made from a house but with travel time and shopping times there was no telling when you would actually show up. We were more intimate with our friends then we are right now. We need that feeling of being humanly connected or risk feeling lost completly. Maybe that is what is missing in this circle of happiness. The feeling of being unconditionally loved and accepted. With less and less time given to us each day it is a wonder so many of us or lost in translation, aimlessly trying to find our way.