Last night, I had a conversation with a friend about the extent to which our global society has drawn friends and family members to cities thousands of miles apart. The opportunities to live and work in cities around the world were not as prevalent in the past, and they open up exciting possibilities. However, they also make it more difficult to maintain relationships. How do we nurture relationships in an age in which our closest loved ones are likely to be scattered around the globe?
My fiancé and I have reasons that we’d love to live both on the east coast and the west coast. Either way, we will find ourselves living close to certain loved ones but three thousand miles away from others. So whatever decision we make, we will have to work hard to maintain some of our relationships.
As difficult as this sounds, I am confident that we will be able to stay in touch with those we are closest to. Some relationships might be more difficult to maintain, and that is not easy to accept. But with our dearest loved ones, it comes down to being there for them emotionally. Calling them to let them know they are on our minds and, whenever possible, trying to see them in person. Love and support are the most important aspects of any close relationship and, difficult as it may be, it is possible to provide those things from afar.
