Do this: bring someone to mind. Anyone you know. A friend. A long-lost cousin. A former colleague. Your Mom. Your Dad. A college roommate. Think about them for a moment. How you know them. How you met. Your past – good times and maybe even some regrets. Smile when you recollect the inspired times.
Call that person.
You may hear surprise in the voice that answers. Even bewilderment, if you reach deep into history for your call. You will almost certainly hear joy.
When I’ve done this practice, it always astonishes me. I had someone say my call made their year – not their day or week, but their year. I had a friend tell me she had been laid off – an hour before I called. Another friend shared that he had decided to move to a new city. Several friends have shared the exuberant news of a coming bundle of joy. Mostly, of course, I simply get to enjoy a few minutes conversing with the person, awed by the striking nuance conveyed by our human voices.
I can recall no one responding meanly, or even brusquely asking, “Why are you calling me?”
One time, a friend did this to me. He called me out of the blue. It was 7:00am his time – an odd time of day for him to call, so I answered. He had called to see how I was doing. I replied, “I am being wheeled into open-heart surgery in 10 minutes.” He told me he loved me and would be thinking of me. We chatted for a few minutes – me in a hospital gown, sitting on a gurney, surrounded by my family, waiting to head to surgery. I loved that call. The dear friend reaching out for no other reason than to say hello. The cosmically consummate timing. The setting. Recalling it now makes me weep with gratitude and hope and love and mirth.
Sometimes when you make these calls, the universe aligns in a glorious and startling way. Call that person – today.
Beautiful. I'm going to do this today!
So true and more important than ever right now as we have been isolated and apart from some of our support systems.