In my speaking engagements and in my book, I have placed extra emphasis on the first and last of my Six Simple Rules. (I also put them first and last because they are the most critical.) The first is “Be Happy” and the sixth is “Be Healthy”.
I never considered calling the sixth rule “Be Well” because well-being is bigger than just health, encompassing parts of what I write about in “Be Happy,” and when I published the book I had no idea that all these years later I would be using the phrase “Be well” all the time.
The reason, as you may have already guessed, is the pandemic.
Over the years, I closed emails with a variety words: Best regards, Best, Regards, All my best, and others.
During the pandemic, I have ended most of my emails with “Be well” or “Stay well”. It’s become common for people to use that closing line, and many also say “Stay safe.”
Pandemic or not, for as long as I can remember, most of the emails I send to people I haven’t spoken with in a while, begin with, “I hope this note finds you well.“
While I always meant what I said, that sentence has taken on more meaning since the pandemic and I have often expanded it to, “I hope this note finds you and your family well.”
As with so many habits we have adopted during the pandemic, I wonder if these will stay. I think they might – and I hope they do.
And not surprisingly, I close with this wish for you and your loved ones:
Be well,
David