Make Contact

Today’s post was going to be about garden wildlife. But it has been pushed back in favour of something, for reasons to be explained, I felt compelled to write about. I received an email this evening. Which happens regularly. What (thankfully) doesn’t happen so often is that the email asks whether I’ve been passed the funeral details for someone I used to know. The point of the post title is that I was going to call him. I’ve been going to call him since January, but haven’t made the time. So if there’s anyone similarly languishing on your list of things to do, take the time to make contact.

I wrote quite recently about the importance of printing photographs out. It is similarly important to keep in touch. Lockdown encouraged new ways of communicating across distance. Various video calling services were, and continue to be, used extensively. But they don’t work for all. Some don’t have the technology. Others don’t like the technology. And in our digital age, it’s too easy to leave people behind. I remember an older relative’s frustration when television shows stated that ‘further details about tonight’s programme are available at www.nogoodifyouhavenointernet.com‘.

Most people will respond to a telephone call, or letter. For many, written letters remain the preferred method of communication. An April 2020 survey by the United States Postal Service found that around two-thirds of respondents agreed that receiving mail lifted their spirits. This was against the backdrop of Covid lockdown of course. The benefits of letter writing impact both the author, and recipient. As a writer, the thought involved in writing by hand is perhaps deeper than by email. There is no spellcheck, no instant delete, no cut and paste. And in return, the reader feels the value of the words. Perhaps best of all, there is no screen time involved in writing or reading a handwritten letter.

This isn’t the first time in life I’ve regretted not making the time for a telephone call. Nor, I suspect, will it be the last. It’s too late now to pick up the phone and reconnect with someone I retain fond memories of, over 40 years since first meeting them. Fortunately, they won’t know there was an intended call. But I will remember that I meant to make contact. It’s time to promote people from my list of things to do, and prioritise them.

Two quotes from Stephen Covey fit well with this post:

– The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities
– Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important