Hello. How Are You ?

Sometimes the phone rings or a letter or postcard appears in the mailbox. In our increasingly digital world, it could be a text, an email, or a social media message. Although the means of conveyance might differ, the sentiments are a version of the same idea, an idea as ancient as basic human interaction: someone you know reaching out to see how you’re doing. 

Today, this email, this edition of the Steady newsletter, is exactly that — from us to all of you and from you to each other. 

We live in a world where the cacophony and unending drumbeats of everyday concerns can feel overwhelming. We worry, and for good reason, about the health of our democracy, our communities, and our planet. Our electronic umbilical cords — phones, computers, televisions — mean we are rarely out of earshot of the infinite arguments and conversations that animate our age. We are inundated with torrents of information. We are tapped into the universe. We confront the multitudinous. 

And through it all, the simple but immensely powerful tenderness of human connection can feel increasingly distant. 

One of our hopes for launching the Steady newsletter, as we have written before, was to seed a sense of community. It would be one that hopefully would be a forum for discussion and debate, conducted politely and with respect. And it would be a way of processing our world, in times of happiness and sadness, fear and contentment. We marvel at how you, our wonderful readers, have achieved this. 

But something else has emerged that has been truly lovely to behold. You have reached out to each other through stories of heartbreak and hope. And others in the community have responded with caring and compassion. 

So today, as we head into the weekend, we felt it might be nice to use this newsletter to ask the question “How are you?” We know the answer isn’t always great, or good, or even okay, although it is wonderful if you are in good spirits. And please share that here as well. But also, if you are feeling less than well, know that that’s perfectly human. Many are struggling for no shortage of reasons. 

Not every problem is fixable, not by a long shot. Life can be unkind and cruel. But we can let each other know that to be human is also to be part of a global interconnectedness, and that means we can care about what others are going through and let them know we are here and listening. 

We hope many of you will share in a discussion here. We ask that whoever adds comments does so in a spirit of love and caring. 

We also hope that this post might inspire you to reach out to someone in your life who could use a check-in — someone lonely, sick, worried, or overwhelmed. But it needn’t be for the most serious of reasons. All of us can use someone out there caring about how we are.

Note: We are deeply thankful for the Steady community. If you aren’t already a member, please consider subscribing. Both free and paid options are available.