Our most basic form of communication is language, and yet so much of what we are communicating is not done with words. Our body language, inflection, eye contact and facial expressions add more than what words can express. We all learned that as we lived through social distancing and were unable to or only saw people via video. Not being able to see their faces or only seeing them on a screen limited our ability to share and understand.
Now that we are returning to more face to face interactions we value all the pieces that contribute to solid communication. Our smile, our gestures and even our words are better, more passionate, even a bit more meaningful. Having missed each other we value each other a bit more. I hope that our words are better chosen and they express what we mean. Otherwise we are sliding back to where we were before a global pandemic separated us and limited our communication.
I shook someone’s hand this week and they looked at me rather funny. We both then used hand sanitizer. I told them I refuse to let fear prevent me from building solid relationships or sanitizing my human interactions. When our meeting was over we hugged and laughed and were glad to have been together AND glad to have our words and actions match our enthusiasm. Yes it is important to be safe and cautious, I think it is even more important to take the opportunities given to be face to face AND share in words, smiles, hand shakes and hugs how welcomed it is to be around people we know and love. Everyone needs a hug, I don’t care what the CDC says. No one survives long without human contact.
Today let us show how we feel in our words, actions and smiles. Let us tell the people we love that we love them. Pat them on the back, give them a hug, or just smile so big that they cannot miss it. Let us not allow our words to be slippery let them stick and invest in the people we are around. One day we may need that same investment given back into our life.
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