Advent: Wednesday, First Week

November 30, 2011

Observe quietly today: Is there some way to reach out, to extend an invitation, to care, to share?  In winding down my last few weeks at my current company, I have plenty of time for observation lately.  I'm observing busy bees around the office, bustling to make the clients and consultants happy while maintaining their own sanity.  I'm observing intimate meetings with coworkers where we laugh and joke around, but really hone in on some amazing new ideas for the business.  I realize no one can run the company alone.  It takes every moving part to make it work.  In the same way that an organization needs each of its members, people in and around one's personal life need other people too to help them fulfill their highest dreams and aspirations.

I've also observed this evening how much my husband and I depend on each other for laughter, strength, and overall wellness.  Sometimes we need to reach out to each other, even if we don't realize that we need to.  It takes that initial invitation to talk and to be a listener.  And, I value that so much.  What would he do without that person in his life to really listen, understand, and care so much?  Furthermore, I value just as much my friendships and family relationships.  It's easy to take for granted sometimes, especially in the age of social media, that I will always have someone to reach out to.  But, we need to be careful about that.  We all know that we can be friends with hundreds of people online, but what happens in a real time of need?  You need someone to trust.  You need someone to listen and bounce ideas off of.  Sometimes, those people don't come very easily, and you have to work to foster those relationships.  Sometimes, it's not very easy for some people to do the work.  Whether they battle shyness, extensive work schedules, alcoholism or drug abuse, physical disabilities that keep them bedridden, many people may not be able to have the resources to get out there and build these important relationships.

If organizations depend upon its members to operate, if husbands and wives depend upon each other for love and support, and if one relies on friends and family to care and share, then it is obvious that as humans, we need others to help us feel fulfilled, loved, and strengthened through our ups and downs. 

I'm imagining now the people who don't have that person... one person to reach out to when they're in need.  How isolating!  How lonely and frightful!  The sheer thought of such loneliness calls to mind a sense of desperation.  This seems to me now where the calling of sacrifice comes in for those of us who are fortunate enough to have a strong web of relationships upon which one can always rely.  It's easy to donate money or canned goods, but wow, it is difficult to donate one's time!  Taking two hours of one's very busy and regimented schedule to visit a lonely stranger in a long term care facility seems like a joke.  How can one possible fit that in too?  It's a decision.  It's a sacrifice.  You simply come home two hours earlier from the bar on Friday night, wake up two hours earlier on Saturday and just do it!  Connection to others is almost as vital as food, clothing, & shelter.  Imagine the overwhelming relief and sense of connection a person who never receives a visitor would feel with even one visit...one phone call!  You could really impact that person's life. 

There are many ways to reach out, to share, and to care.  It's time to make the decision to put them in action.  Tonight, I'll pray for all the lonely people in the world and for strength to make the sacrifice to reach out in a new and different way.

Recap - Observe quietly.  How can you reach out, extend an invitation, care, and share?
1.  Never take your relationships for granted.
2.  We need others to help us feel fulfilled, loved, and strengthened.
3.  Make a conscious decision to reach out to those most in need of a connection.