To all those who will not reply,
I'm now discussing the ENDEMIC issue of those reaching out and being flatly, and ignorantly, ignored.
This rant, and this will be a rant (or a whinge depending on your opinion) is on behalf of myself, of you, of the young, of the creative, of the hopeful, of the determined, of the failures - Primarily aimed at those reaching out for help, for a hand, for an opportunity - but those reaching out, and receiving nothing in return.
We are steeled from a young age to accept rejection and failure. "Fall down seven times get up eight" - the old saying springs to mind. Rejection is the norm in all aspects of life, as we are not everyone's cup of tea - In love, friendship and career. Rejection is a GIANT positive for it is only by rejection and failure that we can learn where we are going wrong, and to remedy that to secure our future success.
It is only by being rejected by the pretty girl do we learn our failure to apply Lynx for a week is unattractive, thus we buy lynx, and then success possibly follows. Possibly.
It's only by rejection, nearly three hundred cases of it, that Colonel Saunders was able to sell his recipe and create the world's first franchise, or JK Rowling was able to trawl though the 100's of no's to find the one yes in Bloomsbury. The rest is history.
It is only by rejection that in all things we discover the little core of mettle at the centre of our being which we call our resolve, dedication and perseverance. Rejection is not failure and it can in more cases than not - be a blessing.
However what is so prevalent now, and this is talking from continued, personal experience - is utter silence.
The empty space.
The non-reply.
The sparse inbox parked neatly next to a bulging 'sent items'. As communications have moved from hand written letters infused with value, of time taken, of the human hand traceable trough the path of the ink, our textual interactions have switched to fast paced, limited value emails - faceless, soul-less, the robotic imprint of a pixel on a page so remote from the person who wrote it.
However, the input is the same as that ink on the page, the meaning, purpose, time taken remains unchanged. The only thing that's changed is it's perceived value, and therefore the chances of a reply.
This takes me back to a childhood memory of a TV show, a dwarf's eye view of an old CRT set suspended dangerously on a shelf. On that TV crackles the pre-HD image of Father Christmas. It's a festive film, I have no doubt. Santa has only hours left before he needs to deliver his presents, the clock is ticking. His head honcho elf comes in, flustered.
"Master, we need to hurry, you need to stop writing those letters to the children, hold the press on the cards, there are more important things to do!"
At this, our bearded red clad hero (Rather like superman but without wearing panties over his trousers) chimes in; "If they took the time to write to me, I'll take the time to write to them".
"If they took the time to write to me, I'll take the time to write to them"
Let those words infuse. Next time you receive an email, think about them. Why? Because the meaning, importance, time, and most importantly the human being behind the email you receive has not changed. Imagine it's a letter written in parchment delivered through your very door.
If you're in a position where others reach out to you, even in banality or in large numbers, please take the time to write back to them, however long it takes. Even if it's just a rejection, a single 'no', a photocopied picture of your arse, but PLEASE do not ignore them.
Because if a human has taken the time to write to you, Please take the time to write back.
