I have noticed what
appears to be a paradox. In this facebook, twitter age it seems the more
we reveal about our “outer” lives -activities and opinions the less we reveal
about our inner lives – emotions, desires.
As I reflect on
the New Year I have “resolved” to “work” on creating closer personal
connections by sharing more of my inner life. I am not talking about spending
more time on twitter or facebook. I am referring to spending time in the
physical presence of people I want to connect with on a deeper level. (It
requires a willingness to be “vulnerable” but that is a subject for another time.)
When people engage in
activities together it seems to be easier to communicate with and open up to
each other. A few activities that
come to my mind are cooking a meal together or going for a walk together. These
allow us opportunities to talk to each other which activities such as going to
a movie together do not allow. Perhaps it can be
described as engaging in a communal activity versus a solitary activity done
together.
I have noticed that I
often want to cancel these get togethers at the last minute. I don’t feel like
it or I have some other excuse. It seems like so
much effort to physically get together especially when we can email, tweet or
post something on facebook when we feel like it. It does take more effort but it is so worth
it. You can only discover
that if you give it a try.
