Typically, I keep up to date with world events and natural disasters which gives me less time to focus on personal relationships. A consequence of the profession I'm in. It's been a crazy few years in the realm of politics and society, yet my personal life has remained still.
Recently, I've caught up with someone who I once knew. We haven't spoke for almost a decade. They left out of the state, got married and are now going through a divorce... and I had absolutely no clue. It honestly shocked me how long it's been. Yet, we're talking again as if we were talking everyday. Mind you, I had a relationship with this person long ago. No, the "end of our relationship" wasn't on bad terms, it was more of ghosting each other. Things have changed so much for them and yet for me, it's been relatively the same.
I've become pretty numb. Naturally, as I'm exposed to images and videos of atrocities and in some cases I experience some bad situations in person. I'm conditioned to be emotionless - cold even. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still a funny guy, laid back and enjoy my life. It's just that my personal relationships with people have left me wanting more. Money doesn't matter, I'm not rich anyways. The world will always be hectic so there isn't much I can change there. Life has an end and I don't want to be too much of a recluse through the rest of it.
So it is nice to just take a step back and welcome people back into my life. Maybe relationships can grow, but I know things will never be the same as they used to be.
Life is short and the world is small; Algorithms make that word even smaller. Time doesn't stop so make time for what's important.