A friendly hand

I recently watched my first virtual funeral via www.obitus.com. I must say that whilst it was strange and surreal to be watching such a personal event, the solemnity and appropriate level of dignity were both present along with the .

The funeral was a school friend’s father. I wasn’t particularly close to this school friend but when your lives have been linked through primary school, secondary school, neighbouring streets, social media and school reunions, when a life event happens you often feel the need to reach out a friendly hand to momentarily reconnect.  

This is the same friendly hand that said, “Why don’t you sit next to me?” when you noticed your primary school classmate walking hesitantly down the noisy school canteen, balancing the oversized tray in their small hands trying not to drop it so as to avoid the loud cheers and cruel laughter that would have ensued from the older children had he done so.  

This is the same friendly hand that said, “Let’s work through this algebra problem together” because you saw how their face flushed with embarrassment as the teacher asked them to explain their homework answer to the class, knowing that it was incorrect because they hadn’t quite grasped the concept.  

This is the same friendly hand that offers them a lift when you see them walking to work. You know that they had to make a choice between buying food for their lunch for their child or paying the bus fare to get to work.

This is the same friendly hand that unconsciously reaches out to them on Social Media in the form of an emoji or a comment when they have changed their relationship status, had a baby, become a grandparent or lost a loved one.

Last week (10 September) it was R U OK day in Australia. It served as a reminder that we should look into the eyes of those whose lives we fleetingly touch as well as those that we think we know so well. Don’t wait too long to offer that friendly hand, one day it may be too late.