Relationships, friendships, bonds, connections..…… everyone talks about how distance kills the bonds people share with each other. We’ve all heard countless stories of long distance relationships doomed to failure, friends drifting apart and old pals fast forgotten.
Is it really true? Is distance really the relationship slayer everyone says it is?
If it is, how is possible then that I have known people who have fallen in love and gone on to marry people they got to know from thousands of miles away? How is it possible that some of us feel closer to friends sitting on the other side of the ocean than the ones sitting across town? How is it possible that we take time to meet and bond with people who are around no more than a few times a year than we do people who are there all year round?
In these modern times, people call, text, Skype, chat, Facebook, tweet, type emails, send postcards and even write letters to one another to keep up and nurture the bonds of love and friendship. It’s more convenient now than ever before to keep in touch. But at the core of it, this has got NOTHING to do with the physical distance, and even lesser with the technology. Technology buys you the convenience, but not the time. It gives you the means, but not the will to act.
Just look at how we are with people who are within reachable distance of us.
Have you ever found yourself rejecting an invitation for coffee or dinner with someone, anyone, because you thought the 30 minute drive across town is ‘damn far’ and the traffic jam is just ‘damn crazy’? Have you found yourself being ‘too busy’ to meet someone because your favourite show was on TV that night or some other vague random thingy you know you were going to do? Or maybe, we were just too tired from a long days work and need to go back home to rest, but not before a few hours of Facebook and Youtube?
And yet other times, we magically find the time, energy and money to go out late nights, morning breakfast’s, coffee breaks and even short holidays when the occasion calls for it.
Personally, I believe distance doesn't matter; only your heart; only your desire. If there is a desire, you WILL bridge the gap. If there is a desire, you WILL defy the oceans. When you have the heart for it, nothing is impossible. And sadly, when we don’t, everything’s an obstacle. Distance becomes nothing than a river you build your bridge over to reach out to the ones you love. But when you don't, it becomes a good excuse why you don’t.
I'm not saying distance does not make a difference at all.. It does…. a lot. We always crave for a physical affirmation of an emotional bond; the stronger the bond, the stronger the crave. That’ why we all feel the need to pat each other on the back, hug, shake hands, kiss, and most simply, be around one another.
But it’s not really the physical distance you should really worry about. That’s easy to bridge. It’s the emotional distance; the detachment you feel in your heart towards people, regardless of where they are. Think about it.
“I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, Even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.”
Unknown
“Time or distance cannot touch the friendship of the heart.”
Unknown
“Though miles may lie between us, we're never far apart, for friendship doesn't count the miles, it's measured by the heart.”
Unknown
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