There are more ways than ever to connect with each other without being in the same place. Video conferencing software and apps bring us face to face; we can see and hear each other, we can create real relationships without ever even being in the same time zone.
What is it, then, that we still yearn to occupy the same space, breathe the same air? Why isn’t it enough to see a friend or a grandchild depicted in our phone or computer screen? Those are good, but they are still placeholders for when we can be in the same place.
The immediacy of sharing the same space has great power. It allows us to create a new dimension of our connection when we can see the whole person, move through space together, reach out and touch their arm.
We don’t think of those things as being an important part of communicating with and truly knowing someone, but they seem to be at the foundation of our connection. Being with other people in person can’t be replaced by an app.
