When was the last time you truly checked in on your friends and family, beyond the quick and usual "How are you?"
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When did you last check in on your loved ones? I'm talking about the ones who seem ro be strong at all times?
There is no doubt that we all are preoccupied with our own personal life issues but that doesn't mean we should not keep in touch with people that we claim are dear to our hearts. A 5 minutes to 10 minutes phone call or a short visit can go a long way in putting a smile to someone's face. Loneliness and depression have been the order of the day in our world today because we are always claiming to be busy.
There are so many lifes that have been lost because they find it difficult to express their feelings to others and they become depressed due to burying their troubles in their hearts. Most people hide their challenges using emotions such as laughing and smiling, whereas they are hurting badly deep down. It is a common thing to always respond to every "How are you?" with "I'm fine" even when the reality is quite different.
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So many people are gradually losing their mind and sanity because they don't know who they can trust with their problems. This is one of the major reasons we should always check up on our loved ones no matter how busy our work schedule or general life activities is. This is rampant in our generation where we allow work pressures or societal issues to prevent us from genuinely checking up on friends and families.
There is a story of a man whose corpse was discovered in his house after about five days when the whole compound was beginning to smell horribly. The door had to be broken down to gain access to his apartment. He had died inside the house and nobody knew about it because nobody have been checking up on him. Infact, there are several of similar cases on the internet and it is very sad. This is a clear indication that we should ensure we don't stay too far away from our loved ones and we must ensure we check on them from time to time.
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More importantly, we apart from checking on them regularly, we must ensure we spend some quality time with them which will make them comfortable with you and share some of their fears with you. Knowingly or unknowingly you may be saving a life with your little words of comfort and your presence. These loved ones I have been talking about may even be inside the same space with you (house, office etc). You must ensure you show concerns when you observe that something is off about them. Ask questions with love and proffer solutions before it gets too late.