Everyone Needs a Little K.I.T.

"[Three] little words just to get me along

It's a difficulty and I'm biting on my tongue, uh

I keep stalling and keeping me together,

People around gotta find something to say now"

Ting Tings, "That's Not My Name"

The reference is a little random but I think it is applicable to the topic of this post and those three words are KEEP IN TOUCH. I think that this act causes such a distinct polarization between the masses, there are those that absolutely do and those that absolutely do NOT. The Deputy finds it imperative to constantly be in touch, be in contact, maintain friendships, maintain relationships and be relevant in someone's life as much as you can. Extending a network and nurturing it can be the most rewarding experience but at the same time it can be the most daunting task.

The proponents of keeping in touch are always involved in the present but definitely bring the past and future into their world at the same time. I am reading the Alchemist right now by Paulo Coelho and it was recommended to me by a very bright friend of mine. The book basically parallels my specific thought process when I travel and it will be referenced numerous times in this blog. (See, already thinking in the future, you can tell I love keeping in touch). There is a distinct dialogue that really references this point about living in the present versus thinking towards the future. An Englishman reads book of Alchemy to prepare for his future travels while a boy listens to the caravan and the desert and the wind. The Englishman argues that reading the books provide him with knowledge for the future and is a good way to pass the time as they traverse the desert. Whereas the kid rebuts that by listening to the sand and the wind he is able to feel and hear the desert and what it has to say. Both are right, but which is more important? In life, we must all possess a unique balance of the two.

The reason I promote keeping in touch is that though it may detract slightly from the present enjoyment of your life by worrying about someone somewhere else, the benefits later on are priceless. Just the other day I met up with a friend that I kept in touch with from Argentina. She's from Britain, but working in Scotland, and was passing through Madrid. She called me up and invited me over to her cousin's place. The apartment was top-floor, high-end, luxurious and with views that could rival anyone else's in the entire city. We had some wine, spoke in a hundred languages, had some tapas and it rounded out to be an excellent night, one for the locals. Without staying in contact, it would have never happened, that door would have never opened. "You never know who has a house in Aspen", I always say.

But it's true, the constant glances at the telephone screen, flooded with the anxiety of MISSING A CALL or worse yet MISSING AN INVITATION, is distracting and rude at points. When true liberty is the freedom from our possessions that hold us back, staying in contact is another mere possession. We must allow it to be intangible, fleeting, happen-chance but consistent. We must whittle down the relationships comparable to trinkets and only dote around our relationships of the finest China.