Clegg shares how a friend's text went unnoticed during a rough week until she checked back. They created a code: "do you have eight minutes?" means someone needs help. Eight minutes of attention can make the difference between feeling alone and feeling seen.
It makes me cry each time I talk about it. A friend of mine, she told me that the week before she had a really, really hard week. And I said, why didn't you call me? She says, I did. I reached out. So of course I pull up my phone and I scroll up and I look for her texts. And sure enough, it says, hey, what are you doing? Want to come over? I'm like, I'm like, you mean these texts? The one that sound like every other text you've ever sent me, ever. I'm like, how do I know that that's a crime? For help, she had read an article that all human beings need is 8 minutes of time from another friend to feel not alone in a moment of stress and a moment of need. And so she and I came up with a code word that the next time one of us really needs the other person, our code would be, do you have eight minutes? Anyone can step out of a meeting for eight minutes. You won't solve your friends problems. It only takes eight minutes for them to feel like they're dealing with whatever they're dealing not alone. And this is the power of friendship.
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