Reach Out

Reach outDo you know a person that used to be in your life but no longer is?  Someone that you wish would be a part of your life again. I do.  I’ve several people that for one reason or another have drifted away from me.  Sometimes I think I have been the “drifter”.  All of that is part of life.  People come and people go in our lives, and often it has to do with our different stages in life. When we drift apart from someone (I am not talking romantic relationship), we often assume that the other person is busy living his or her life.  You might be thinking that you grew apart and all is well.  That might be the wrong assumption.

This week I reconnected with someone who was an important part of my childhood. We became adults and lost touch.  I (wrongly) assumed that this person had no interest in being part of my life.  That I had not seen this person in fifteen years had, as I learned, nothing to do with me.  As a matter of fact, this person had lived not far from hell.  If I had only known, instead of just assuming that we just drifted apart, I would have reached out sooner.

Thanks to a mutual friend, I heard something that led me to reach out my hand in cyber space.  The person I was reaching out to “took my hand” immediately.  We are slowly finding each other again, telling our life stories to each other.  I’m so grateful that I learned what really happened, even if my heart aches with the knowledge of the life this person has endured.  That we finally have reconnected makes my heart smile though.

So reach out your hand to someone that you lost touch with, someone who meant something to you in the past.  You might be the only one doing it.  If the other person is capable of grabbing your hand, you will forever be grateful for that you took that first step.

Life is too short to loose people that are worth having in our lives.