After a series of emails to straighten out a misunderstanding that proved progressively frustrating, I repaired to the telephone this morning, and what a relief! We got the matter cleared up in minutes.

Instead of getting continually twisted into the written word, a few spoken sentences solved the problem and added value to the exchange. A miracle! Why? Because of genuine connection.

I’m beginning to feel the discomfort in email. There is no voice quality to tell us what’s really going on for the other person. There are no pauses. It’s slick, and, a lot of the time, too fast. Do I sound like a fuddy-duddy to you?

Maybe I am, but I don’t care. Or, I do, but perhaps I care too much.

A colleague and I had the kerfuffle this morning. It was silly. We went several email rounds before I called. I’m shy, I admit it. I like the written word. And it takes time to write what one means.

It also allows me not to connect, not really.

A friend and I had a long visit on the phone one evening. It had been over a year since we’d talked, and I’d missed her. It was sheer delight. We laughed and cried and picked up right where we’d left off. It was delicious, and we promised it wouldn’t be a year before the next time.

Interestingly, one of the things we talked about was her two just-out-of-college assistants. She told me that they prefer texting and email to face-to-face any day, and that she has to push them into face meetings! In addition, my friend observed that these two aren’t very good at actual connection. Virtual connection, no problem, but real, in person connection, nope! I felt sad.

I’m beginning to feel like email is a sometime cop-out, like texting is no stand-in for personal connection. I also feel that personal connection is underdone these days, and that virtual connecting is overdone.

For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso's blog