Am I the only one missing friends these days?
In these times, people have so many ways to communicate and yet they don’t. It really is sad because if you’re not active on Facebook or Twitter, it is almost like you don’t exist.
I remember when I was in college, a phone call home either had to be collect or you had to find someone’s phone to call from and pay expensive long distance charges. Since my mom answered the phones for a business, I could call her on the 1-800 number and it wouldn’t cost me anything.
We didn’t have social media or cell phones or text messages. In fact, we didn’t even have email. If you wanted to write a note to someone, you needed to write a letter, put a stamp on it and mail it.
These Days I’m Missing Friends
These days, though, I’m missing friends. It seems without doing the social media like, share, retweet, emoji thing, people just are silent. It feels like if you don’t talk about politics, they are quiet. I’m perplexed by what I see.
It has gotten to a point where if I don’t initiate a conversation, I hear nothing from anyone. These are people that I was close to who used to stay in touch. I guess these days either that is too difficult of a thing, or people are so hung up on politics they no longer know how to say hello.
It really is sad, and I know others who are dealing with the same thing. Have we all gotten to a point where we absolutely don’t care for anyone but ourselves? Have we gotten to a point where politics is the only thing we can talk about in life? I hope not, but I fear it is.
To me, if you respect others, you will stay in touch with them. You won’t feed them B.S. lines of being too busy or this relative stopped to see you. You won’t make up one excuse after another or just stay silent. If you think this is respectful, then the world is doomed.
I know, many are living in survival mode even though they act all enlightened and conscious. It is understandable because of what is happening with the virus and in our political landscape. Yet, as much as people say we’re in this together, few people show this to be true. Instead of acknowledging how most of us are in survival mode trying to deal with what is happening on this planet, we hide our heads in the sand.
Treating Others As Strangers
While it is easier not to deal with it and only desire to escape reality, it does more harm than good. When we treat each others as strangers, it leaves us missing friends. It degrades all of humanity and it makes it more difficult to travel this earth as it makes another revolution around the sun.
I’ve tried to reach out to missing friends many times. Often I get a quick emoji back or a one or two word response. Then the excuses come about why they haven’t been in touch and that’s the end of communication until I start the process all over again.
I just don’t get it. Missing friends seems to be the norm these days and it shouldn’t be. It is already difficult enough, so why are we making it more difficult by leading unconscious lives?
Maybe this shows that people aren’t truly our friends like we thought they were. Maybe it is pulling the veil of ignorance back to see more clearly. I have no idea if that is true, but I’m so tired of the charade that is being perpetuated every day.
Tired Of Social Media Fakeness
I backed off of social media because I was tired of the fakeness. People seemed to care, and I believe there were some that truly did. However, too much of it was fake. It was inauthentic. If you’re not on the social media platforms, the caring evaporates quickly.
Why do we as humans treat each other with so much disrespect? Is the time of missing friends the way this will be in the future? Is this all we can expect?
I wish I had the answers, but these times are very strange. I think of the movie “Call Of The Wild” and start to find myself jealous of living out in the back country with only animals.
Oh, and please don’t get me started on family because that’s not much better than the missing friends in life.
Stop This Behavior
I’m sure some may disagree with what I’m writing here and that’s fine. I just think that these things make us less than human when we close our eyes to them. Sometimes we need a little extra light upon them so we become aware and can change things.
If you’re a person that is doing this behavior, STOP IT! Take stock of how you’re treating friends and find a better way to behave. Find a way to be authentic and respectful.
Missing friends is painful for all connected and involved.
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