In this day and age as families drift apart due to better career opportunities in distant cities, keeping in touch has in itself become a challenge. Recently, a young lady living by herself in Bengaluru told me that her mother, who lives in Chandigarh, ( over 2200 kilometers away) was very annoyed with her. The reason: she hadn’t spoken to her in weeks. Her mother, she said somewhat contritely, had threatened to take her back by the next plane if she didn’t call within the next 12 hours. Obviously, the girl was occupied with her work and many other things in a big city. With so much to do, that call assumed lower priority for her. Yet at my age, I can empathize with her anxious mother.
Millions of people worldwide have found a relatively new way to stay in touch. Amy Harmon writes a delightful article in the New York Times about how the webcam has brought families close together though they are physically thousands of miles apart. The technology is not perfect yet and yes, there are frequent technical glitches but the experience of seeing their loved ones and interacting with them- although virtually- is extremely gratifying. I particularly liked the accompanying video ” Everything But The Hug “.
So as I was saying, though our work takes us far away there is no need to be cut off from our loved ones. I hope the young lady I spoke off, or indeed so many others who are losing touch with their families, reads this and invests in a webcam.
Subscribe to the A-Step-A-Day series using RSS at https://bprao.wordpress.com/category/a-step-a-day/feed
This is Post No: 360 of the “A Step A Day” series : To provide perspective and provoke thought to facilitate self-development across a wide spectrum of issues- big and small- crucial for executive success.
People at Work & Play 