“……….Hey there? Longtime! Hope you doing well. I’m good. Was just checking on you. And BTW Happy New Month!!……”
This is just a simple text that I receive each moment we usher in a new month. I value such texts regardless of whether we have had little contact with the person inboxing me. I appreciate the ‘checking on you’ messages.
On the other hand, I usually send the same type of ‘catching up’ messages to friends and associates. However, in other times, I send them inconsistently. With the advent of technology and more so WhatsApp and Telegram, I prefer to download images bearing the words ‘Happy New Month.’ I get straight to the point. To close friends, I write customized messages to wish them well in the coming month. To friends who I haven’t contacted in a long time, I usually start a little conversation just to check on how they are doing and also update them on how I am doing.
It is usually good to check on people around us. Nobody knows when their time on earth will be up. The unexpected always happens. In the current generation, it has become the norm for individuals to be united by death. It is during the burial of a relative that people get to catch up. I remember late last year when I attended the funeral of a high school mate, the need for catching up with schoolmates and more so classmates arose. A good way of doing so was knowing where each individual resides such that when you are around their neighborhood, you just give them a call and meet them for one to two minutes. Another way was to create WhatsApp groups where individuals could share ideas. The underlying factor was that we should not be united by the death of a comrade.
Death reminds us that we are just but passengers here on earth. The world is not our home. Having this in mind, it would be good to be at least catching up with individuals around us. Make it monthly, or even quarterly. For those close to us you can make it weekly or fortnightly. The rule of the thumb is to know the limits and also to understand the relationship between you and the individual you wish to text. We all need privacy. Moreover, we are wired differently, and as a result, not everyone enjoys chatting. Just hit them up with a conclusive statement like the one shared above. You could start today since tomorrow is a new month. Go through your contact list and identify those people you haven’t contacted in a long time. Get to know how they are doing and also tell them how you are doing.
Happy catching up!
kanyanga 