iamgoodnews.com

All relationships begin with a "Hello." And nowadays this "Hello." is often a myspace greeting, a text message or webcam.  And although each of these has some value, there's nothing that comes close to an old school, face-to-face, "Hello."

But more and more there's less reliance or trust in the old school "Hello."  Whether people are apprehensive about the social nuances needed to form new relationships, or we've come to mistake a text message, or more friends on myspace as sound replacements for a "Hello", there tends to a trend toward a digital conversation.  That being said, it's time to state unequivocably that a "Hello." is good news.  Genetically, we are social beings.  We are engineered to seek out social relationships, eye contact, physical interaction, the security of a handshake and the comfort of a hug.  The more we receive these, and yes, the more we give them out, the more content and secure we become.  Yes, the Doctor of Good News is showing his age here, but replacing true social interaction with digital handshakes, or www.hugs, provides a false and very artificial sense of what we are predisposed to crave. 

The relationships we begin with a "Hello." are not deleted with the push of a button and more than that, they can continue offline and free of any wi-fi access.  So here's what I'd like for each of you to consider doing.  Check the roster of people on your email list, your social networking site, or even those you text incessantly.  Pick one, two or maybe three that you've not spoken to or seen in more than six months and simply give them a call.  Hear their voice, shake their hand and spend some true quality time with the person you call a friend.  And more than that, when you see them again, when you hear their voice take note of the first thing that you're likely to say to one another, as it's likely the first words uttered when the relationship began.  A simple, old school and timeless, "Hello."

"Hello" is good news.