Familiarity...The word has many meanings and your frame of mind will determine where your head goes.
For some, the definition is about a relaxed friendliness or intimacy between people. This is positive when you start thinking about a great relationship in your life. One where you always pick up where you left off, there's a lack of jealously, and each of you GET the other.
For others, it's the phrase "Familiarity breeds contempt" and it indicates a lack of growth and a loss of respect for someone or something.
To me, familiarity is the only thing getting us by these days.
Think about it. Brand new streaming apps aren't trying to lure you in with a bunch of new content, their bread and butter comes in the form of something familiar to you.
The Friends reunion on HBO Max
Frazier on Paramount Plus
Bel-Air (The Fresh Prince reboot on Peacock)
There's a reason why fresh ideas aren't always successful, and it's because our lives have been uprooted and we cling to what we know. We are not going to movie theatres, we are not exploring new trends, new stores, or New York. Covid has brought us a level of anxiety many of us have never experienced before.
Now I know some of you are thinking I sound like a Boomer. Someone who is just set in their ways and longs for the good old days before those darn Gen-Z'rs infiltrated our lives with those pesky TikTok dances and their lack of brand loyalty.
Hardly. I embrace technology or else I'll be passed up by my job and my kids. I embrace the new or else I'll be out with the old. I never stop learning, because then I'll start dying... but my sweet spot is in familiarity.
Ask yourself..Where do you find your physical comfort?
Is it in a new pair of jeans, or an old pair of sweatpants?
Where do you find your mental comfort?
Is it out mingling with new people at a safe distance, or are you longing to be with the ones you know that make you laugh?
Are you making deconstructed food at home where the plate is big and there's a bunch of drizzle and microgreens on it? Or are you craving meatloaf and mac and cheese?
To reiterate, growing and experiencing new things is essential, but finding familiarity right now is essentialer.
Star 102, which I'm very fond of, plays songs you're familiar with. You probably know all the words and the songs conjure up memories like your first concert, your first kiss, or your last kiss when swapping spit seemed like a good idea.. or your last concert 13 months ago. Sure, we play the best of the best new songs to keep you relevant, but it's rooted in..
Familiarity.
During this time of uncertainty, when hope is sometimes outweighed by fear, surround yourself with the people and things that have brought you joy in the past, because pandemic or not, we all need much more of that. Social distancing doesn't have to mean social isolation.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to singing Driver's License.
All my best as you go through life and the relationships in it
XOXO Glenn
