There comes a time in our lives when we realize we have lived a lifetime.  We find ourselves reflecting on what is important and meaningful in our lives.

The past 8 years have been a whirlwind of self-discovery and change for me. I moved so far from my friends and family and have felt disconnected and lost for a long time. However, during COVID I connected with people more often. I felt loved, supported and even cherished. We all made the time to connect as we felt that innate fear of loss that COVID brought us.

Fast forward to today and I find that we are falling into the old habits of not having enough time to connect with each other. My heart aches from the amount of times I have been told that “I do not have time to visit”, or “I do not have time for a zoom call”, “Or maybe we can chat another day……….

There are times that I have reached out and asked to have a coffee date or share a meal when I am in the same city. I even make sure to plan a few weeks ahead. But still, I get turned down more often than not.

And it’s not that people are ghosting me, or have moved on from me. I am being told they still care and want to see me. But, life is just too busy.

Granted, COVID gave us the gift of time by forcing us to slow down and stay home.  Time was something that was plentiful and even at daunting at times. Additionally, during this time we discovered a lot about ourselves and what we wanted in our lives. For most of us we learned that we wanted to connect more to the people we care about. And, we wanted to let go of the ones that no longer fit into our lives.

So where does this leave us today?

I think we need to find a balance of our busy schedules and make time for the people we want to share our lives with. Perhaps using some of time we spend on social media to connect with someone. I am guilty of falling down the Instagram video rabbit hole. Before I know it, an hour has gone by and I have watched countless of videos! LOL!

So how can we find slivers of time today to connect with people? Connection does not have to be time consuming. It can be as quick as texting an emoji heart to someone.

Here are some more suggestions:

• Send a quick text to say “Hello, I am thinking of you”.
• Mail a card to someone.
• Set a date to talk on the phone once a month.
• Have a zoom call.
• Schedule short visits- like coffee or even a quick visit to someone’s house for a hug. (not all visit have to be drawn out and time consuming)
• Send an email with a short note.

Remember, we moved back to SoCal and we are staying! We love it here and are so happy to be home.

I look forward to connecting to you soon!

Love & Light