Category: Soul Notes

To Vicky, Bill, Lorraine, Miriam, Mickey, Dan and David…This one’s for you.

Yes, I write and post about my life experiences, relationships, and disappointments, and I also live a life that most people know nothing about.
People can be physically present while seeming strangely absent from the human moment happening right in front of them.
There are probably many forces behind this…technology and constant interruption, shorter attention spans, social fragmentation, anxiety, exhaustion, self-protective behavior, the normalization of transactional relationships, and a culture that increasingly rewards speed and personal agenda over lingering, listening, and genuine engagement.

I’ve literally experienced people see me in a room who know some of my “story” and walk out of the room to avoid closeness, comfort, exchange, and authentic human intimacy. Because that’s the world we live in today.

No connection. No substance.
It makes no sense. This is NOT the human condition I know.

Most people I encounter seem to have turned off their feelings, lost their willingness—or perhaps even their ability—to practice empathy, and become comfortable with keeping interactions superficial.
I experience people walking up to two people engaged in a deep conversation and blatantly interrupting for their own agenda, without even acknowledging the third person. And then…the conversation is simply over. Dropped like a hot potato.
It is jarring. It feels robotic.
Am I watching the 2026 version of The Stepford Wives??!!

And then… something happens that reminds me that genuine human connection is still very much alive.
Last night, I received a simple voice message from a dear friend. Two minutes of thoughtful questions about how I’m doing, how my health is, how I’m enjoying my summer, how my son is doing and whether he’s enjoying his work—and so many other little details of my life. He remembers…he engages and connects.

This week I have experienced my ride or die’s show up in a way that reminds me of what I look for and need in my relationships and connections…love, time and untimed presence…
Nothing extraordinary happened.

And yet, it meant so much…and they are my “constants.”
Friendship…Connection…Authenticity.
Because being genuinely remembered and being loved unconditionally is an extraordinary grace.

There are still people who listen. People who remember. People who ask because they truly want to know. People who take an authentic interest in another human being’s life without an agenda.

Those moments remind me that perhaps the human condition isn’t disappearing entirely. Perhaps it is simply becoming rarer—and therefore more precious.

So I have learned to fully respect the changes in human behavior around me. I don’t want to spend my energy trying to figure it all out anymore. My time is invaluable.

I continue to write because writing is one of the ways I unpack my life, process and make meaning of my experiences, and remain connected to myself.

And I continue to depend upon myself…and upon the handful of extraordinary people in the ordinary moments with whom I still share something I recognize as genuine human connection.

The people who remember.
The people who listen.
The people who remain present.
The people who truly want to be connected.

The “human condition.”

Intimacy isn’t necessarily romantic…it is the simple human act of remaining present with another beautiful soul.

Love and blessings,

Wendy