e.i.b.: Calling

and no need for a call back.

Life can be really hard. And then life can be really easy. And simultaneously, life can be really hard for one person and really easy for their friend.

I write it in this simplistic form not to make light of the hard or the easy. Rather to make the paradox crystal clear.

I got a voice message from an elder friend and neighbor last week as I was making my way through a very rough week. She and I had talked a few days prior though this message was different. She was calling to say she was thinking of me, didn’t expect a call back, just wanted me to know she was there.

The message, as they do, came at the perfect moment. Looking back, I can’t even recall when it came in and when I listened to it but it was the moment my heart needed it.

Last year, when I was still on Facebook, I had this idea to write a gratitude post about a specific person who I was thinking about in that moment. I did it right before signing off for the night, tagged the person and maybe also a few friends we had in common, and then got off.

I so enjoyed it because it fostered our sense of belonging on this medium that can feel isolating though really I did it because I wanted to act on when the thought of someone would waft through my mind. What if in that exact moment that I’m thinking of a former coworker, he is going through a really rough time in his life? Or what if just the act of telling someone you’re thinking about them supports that individual as well as our connective tissue?

Maybe we are connected in a way so that when that someone wafts through my mind and heart, that’s when they could really use some support?

And what if the support really could just be, “Hey, I’m thinking about you. No need to call back.”

There’s some permission giving that needs to happen here, though, too.

First, permission to not pick up the phone call and let it go to voice mail.

Second, to actually leave a voice message instead of hanging up.

Third, to not feel the need to follow up and just let the message be enough.

Of course, it doesn’t need to be a voice message. It could be a Facebook post, like I was doing for awhile. It could be a text. It could be a letter in the mail. Whatever might convey your genuine kind-hearted thinking about the other person and whatever they may be living with and through in that moment.

So, who might you call with no need for a call back?

As always, you can leave a comment by clicking below or email me a replied post. I’ll reply to either in good time. :-)

Til tomorrow,

Cassandra