Monday, 20 February 2017

When I reach out.

When I reach out.


You have the freedom to not reply.
You have the freedom to pretend you didn't read it.
You have the freedom to pretend you didn't read it in time.
You have the freedom to not agree with me and not tell me why.
You have the freedom to agree with me and not tell me you agree with me.

Individually, normally, I'm ok with the above.



In the past, I've emailed something to you about an experience of mine.
It was a painful lesson I've learnt.
It was something great I've experienced.
It was a great idea.
I was keen to hear your thoughts.
I wondered if we could take that and make it so much more.
Here was a chance we can build a stronger connection.

But you didn't reply.
When I bumped into you, you didn't mention it.

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I don't know if you've ever given it a thought.
But did you know that a no-reply is actually (slightly) negative?
A wave of no-replies is like a multitude of people not voting, (quite) negative.
You don't need to look far to see the effect of not voting, not speaking up.

When this happens, it take effort on my part to think the best of the situation.
I try.
But I then wonder, has my message not moved you enough to even say, "Agree!" or "Not sure about that."
It hurts more when what I share with you is important or sensitive to me.

If I pour out my heart...
Please exercise your freedom to reply.
A word.
An emoticon.
Not just because I'm a millennial.
But because I am human.

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Is it just email?
Is it just social media?
Shall I resort to snail mail? (And take it that as a lesson of sharing via social media).