5.21.21 // re-connection

I recently re-connected with a friend.
.
It's not that I lost touch with that friend, but our journeys took us in different directions. We weren't running into each other and our lives weren't seamlessly overlapping like they once did.
.
A simple exchange of "how are yous" and he divulged a short but powerful bit of vulnerability.
.
Immediately I took the exchange off Instagram and sent a video text. We had exchanged a couple of these in the past and they were fun- more powerful than a text, not connected to any social media app, and not as intense as a call because we both could respond when we had the energy to devote to it.
.
Over the course of several videos, some short and some longer, we had a beautifully vulnerable conversation and it reminded me of my heart’s desperate need for human connection.
.
I've blamed a lot on COVID this past year, some of those blames are accurate, but some are not. For example, I have been blaming my disconnection from others on COVID. Yes, but also no.
.
A lot of my disconnection comes from the feelings of connection that social media artificially provides me.
.
It's assumed that by ‘following’ our friends on social media, we are "connected to them”. Sure, a small part of this could be true, but idly sitting by watching someone's highlight reel feels wrong. Friendships aren't as simple as a follow or unfollow and I am pained when others boil it down to something so simple [more on this tomorrow].
.
Friendships need connection, vulnerability, truth, communication, and action.
.
I needed that reminder.
.
And for any friends I've fallen into the social media handicap with, I'm sorry. Let's chat?