Read on Twitter
So it's 10pm on a Bank Holiday Monday evening and I'm feeling philosophical.
This lockdown has changed me. It forced me to stop when I've been on life's treadmill for as long as I can remember. Many years ago, busyness was my escape from unhappiness and loneliness. But the busyness prevented me from realising I was no longer unhappy or lonely.
I've become really disciplined. Up at 6am for breakfast (porrridge), start studying at 7am, start work at 9am, have lunch (soup), get back to work, phone parents, go for walk, have dinner, relax, bed at 10pm.
I've found joy in simple things. In the walks through our lovely town, in home made cooking, in spending 24/7 with my beloved husband. In housework, even!
I have reflected on life - past and present. The sad and the happy. The people I've met, the friends I've made.
When I was unhappy and lonely, the transience nature of friendship was a cause of great pain. People would come into my life, make a real impact, then I would move or they would. I yearned for lifelong friendships.
The age of social media means we know many people. Hundreds - thousands even. We can keep in touch with people with a text or a Whatsapp but not see them for years. We can meet someone once, then add them on FB and forget how we met.
But as I reflect on life, those aren't the friendships that are life-giving. We have a deep yearning to really matter to other people. To not just be a text. But to be real and present in each other's lives. To share and carry each other on the journey.
