Simply ..connect....

14/11/2020

I think my duck is looking longingly at this beautiful lake...thank you Liz!

Blue Zone researchers say that 5 - 6 hours of social contact each day is common among the happiest and longest living people on the planet. Currently some of us are lucky to get 5 - 6 hours a week!

So maybe we can all help by making contact with someone. Perhaps someone we like but have not been in touch with for a while, or with a neighbour, or someone who lives alone. It can make all the difference in the world to everyone's wellbeing and is free, easy and takes little time. It can even be as simple as making eye contact over your mask. A call, a text, a smile, a card, a wave, a comment here :-) Or a regular letter to anyone you know who doesn't for whatever reason use the available technology.

I think this is a really important contribution. Would you agree?

10 Comments

Gwendoline

15/11/2020 02:20:23 am

I could not agree more! I’m not too worried about whether I am ‘average’ in my need for contact because we are all different but I have certainly come to understand that my baseline need is non-negotiable. As long as I keep myself above this minimum by being in touch with others I am OK (not always great, these are difficult times after all) but, if I fall below that level things get very much harder very quickly. I don’t usually comment on Blogs Freda but yours has always struck me as a sane and welcoming place that looks on the bright side but doesn’t deny the dark side exists. So thank you very much for this, I value dropping in.

Freda

15/11/2020 02:05:49 pm

I think this blog and the readers of it are what keep me sane! And the commenters, my blog friends, are certainly an important part of my social connections - now more than ever.
I value your dropping by and thank you.

Gail

15/11/2020 03:32:40 am

Yes, I need a little more pleasant contact with people

However, I will still quarantine from a few people even when pandemic is over (gentle smiles)

Freda

15/11/2020 02:06:45 pm

Nicely put Gail!

Swissrose

15/11/2020 05:59:52 am

I must confess I would find so much social contact hard work :o The regulations I have experienced in France and Switzerland in 2020 have not been hard for me, to be honest.
Obviously I enjoy my family and friends but as something of an introvert, I find I need to be able to retreat and after a joyful time spent with others it's taking me increasingly longer to regenerate...
Although perhaps that depends exactly on how "social contact" is defined? Is an engagement like this comment also a "social contact"?! What about pets, do they count?! I'd miss not having pets around!!

Gwendoline

15/11/2020 06:25:00 am

I assumed pets count. Mine certainly do! They can tell the time too and the clocks going back always leads to a noisy fortnight or so while they adjust. They keep me on the straight and narrow ;-)

Freda

15/11/2020 02:14:21 pm

I hadn’t thought of this!

Freda

15/11/2020 02:13:25 pm

I suspect we are all learning things about ourselves! I have realised that I am a lot more sociable than I thought I was. I imagine pets must count and notice dog owners nearly always talk with other dog owners when out walking - especially if they have the same breed of dog.

Sheena

15/11/2020 09:03:28 am

I have always spent a lot of time on my own and just now, by many peoples' standards, I have a lot of social contact as I am at work, I see my extended family frequently and a friend and I go for a walk once a week. But still there is this big hole in life that was previously filled by all my other friends and activities. I am quite surprised by how much I miss time spent in their company. However, technology does still let us reach out to others and I was cheered up a lot by a long text conversation with a friend I hadn't been in touch with for a few months. Thank you for the prompt, Freda.

Freda

15/11/2020 02:23:09 pm

Work fulfills that social role for many, and a recently retired friend already misses the camaraderie of the workplace. I miss ‘people watching’ on my city trips to galleries and concert halls!! Zoom etc are lifesavers.

Simply ..connect....

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