Sarah Warsi

The other day I was cleaning out an old wallet and I was pleasantly surprised at what I found – I came across two wallet-sized photographs of two good friends of mine from years ago – from our high school days. It certainly brought back a wave of memories and nostalgia.

I was more humbled by the discovery because I had just recently been in contact with both of them after some time. When we finally reconnected, it just felt natural, as if there had been no gap at all.

I don’t think we ever mean for too much time to pass before reconnecting with old friends. We get busy just trying to live out our purpose in this beautiful, yet mysterious thing called life. However, I think that when the connection is strong enough, that alone supersedes the interval in between.

Though this discovery did make me realize that I would never want that much time to pass ever again.

This week, the Young and the Restless, paid a beautiful tribute to the late Kristoff St. John‘s character Neil Winters. Kristoff’s grace and light truly shone through his portrayal of Neil over the years. Jack, played by Peter Bergman said it so eloquently in one scene, “A Genoa City without Neil? It’s just wrong.”

Neil was larger than life, you could say, and his absence has left a lasting void on the show much like Kristoff’s passing has in reality. (See my personal tribute to Kristoff here)

The story line just reiterated so many real-life reminders about how important it is to make more of an effort to stay in touch with your loved ones and to also not remain in conflict with them. There will always be squabbles and disagreements, but never hang onto that negativity and let that be a reason to lose touch. You’d never want to find yourself regretting that later on. There is always time in your busy schedule, there is always a way to make it happen, if you care enough.

I’m sure that at any given time, we have people on our minds, that we wonder about, that we are making a mental note to ourselves to reach out too, but then it never happens. We simply keep intending too, without that intent ever materializing into action.

This is where I view social media as a hindrance. It has clouded the way we communicate with each other, to say the least. We shouldn’t wait for a new Instagram post, or a new tweet to get an idea of how someone is doing. More often than not, how people display themselves online is a far cry from how things really are in their personal life. If you really want to know how someone is doing, then reach out to them directly. If they don’t reciprocate, that is their choice, but at least you tried.

So let’s remember to take action. Follow through with your intentions. Send that text message to simply ask how someone is doing. Don’t keep putting it off and don’t keep waiting for the other person to take initiative. If you truly care, then follow your heart and show that you do. Let your warmth and love resonate towards the other person. In a world of continued chaos and strife, we can only strive to create more intense bouts of positivity, love and light.