Greeting Cards:

Sending a new year greeting card has become a mechanical action, without any real meaning from the sender’s side. Many a time, the executive gives a list to his secretary to send these printed greetings to all who matter to his business and the secretary obliges without really bothering to check the address or whether the recipient is alive, retired, or not.

When I was a junior executive in a large organization, I used to exhibit the greetings I received back from my associates to tell my teammates that I am getting more greetings than my other teammate.

But nobody really bothers about these greeting cards. The recipients also reciprocate by sending reciprocal cards so very mechanically. However, it is customary to send greeting cards to make our old friends feel wanted and to remind them that we still remember the good old friendship.

As the years rolled by, I stopped sending the cards. I phone up a few to tell them that I value their friendship and kinship. It makes some difference in the relationship. But the best I found was to make a personal visit. Face-to-face meetings, if both are in the same location, or if happened to be away in a different location, a phone call does the magic. But the phone call, the conversation, and the tone of the voice can exhibit the love and respect we have for the other person.

With the advent of Whatsapp, these days we send a message, perhaps with the same wording to all our friends. The associates also do not take these seriously. It reminds all that we are alive and active. It matters. It reflects our attitude towards our fellow human beings. After all, we are not an isolated island, and we need people, friends, associates, and buddies to live in this society and in this planet. We need a network of friends to learn and grow, and exchange ideas and thoughts. ?Yes. We are humans, we need congratulatory messages, pats on the backs. OK, all said and done, let us welcome the new year 2023.