One note does not make a symphony; one artist does not make an orchestra, but one phone call can make a world of difference.
–Matshona Dhliwayo
It’s time to make that call. Life is busy and full of competing priorities. And many of us just aren’t that good at exhaling for a moment, realizing what’s really important, and taking the first step. So let’s rise above the chaos, the distractions, the excuses, and come out from behind the texting with the kindness of an actual phone call. Not a planned one. An unexpected/surprise one.
Of course, it might be awkward, uncontrolled, and unscripted. Do it anyway. Reach out. Reconnect. Everyone will appreciate it, and someone in each of our social circles really needs it. They need to know at this moment that someone is thinking of them. They need to know that most things can get better and that they don’t have to go through it alone. And before you hang up, and no matter what you discuss, please take the opportunity to close with two simple but ever so powerful words: YOU MATTER.
So, stop what you’re doing and make that call right now. Not sometime later, not tomorrow, not next week, but right now. You’ll be glad you did. Because it matters. Because everyone matters. Who knows? —it may become habit-forming. And PLEASE come back and share your experience in our Comments section below.
Powerful message
Dennis, you know how important mental health is to me. I agree with you – drop things for five mins and make a phone call or send one of those extra postcards you have kicking around from one of your trips. The holidays are especially busy, yet it is a time when many are hurting the most.
Right on target, my friend. It takes so little to do so much for so many…
Phone calls, even if they are unexpected (or because of it), give a feeling of comforting warmth. Beyond service calls, certain phone calls are the result of special attention, the kind that a small handful of contacts in our address book deserve. The one who understands what you have depending on the type of prompt you say and the time you call and the notice you give (when you give it). The phone call is the thing that most resembles seeing each other in person, something that makes us immediately understand who is on the other side. What response will we get, what will we do as soon as we hang up the phone.
Well said, Aldo – “comfort and warmth” cost nothing but are simply priceless, my friend…