our connections

Baaa.....Baaaaa................Baaaaaaaaaa

"Happiness lies for those who cry,
those who hurt, those who have searched,
and those who tried,
for only they can appreciate
the importance
of people who have touched their lives."

Author Unknown 

friendship

a friend sent me this and I have no idea who to credit the picture to, but it really touched my heart.
thank you to all my beautiful friends!!!!
Let us be good family!!

love,
Michele

On Friendship

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us,
we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice,
solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain
and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion,
who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement,
who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing
and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.

Henri Nouwen

Relationships

Sometimes people come into your life
and you know right away that they were
meant to be there,to serve some sort of
purpose, teach you a lesson,or to help
you figure out who you are or who you
want to become. You never know who
these people may be possibly your
roommate, neighbor, professor, long lost
friend, lover, or even a complete stranger,
but when you lock eyes with them, you
know at that very moment they will affect
your life in some profound way.
~Author Unknown

Friendship

Who's got big hair??? Here is the gang from highschool:
Chien, Chris, Katie, Big Hair, Sherri and Leslie.
Read Below.....great note about friendship!
Love,
Michele

LESSONS IN FRIENDSHIP

True friendship is a soul-level connection. Fortunate are you if
you develop five "true friends" during your entire lifetime. Joanne
Blum, Ph.D. describes what being in friendship is like. She writes, "We
are energized and uplifted. We are filled with new ideas. Feeling a
sense of understanding and of being understood, we are validated and
encouraged; we know we are not alone. Our friends inspire us to grow. What
we admire in them--their compassion, energy, joy, or peace--motivates us to
rise higher. They become the mirror in which we see our better selves.
..We are spiritually invigorated by the wisdom and beauty we see in our
friends."

We are rarely taught the skills of friendship. We grow up never
knowing our own abilities for contributing to friendship. We often waste
irretrievable hours, even days or years, relating to people who are toxic to
us, demanding our time and energy for no good purpose. In her book, "Lessons In
Truth," H. Emilie Cady warns, "If you can help such people, well; if not,
gather yourself together and do not waste a moment idly diffusing and
dissipating yourself to gratify their idleness. You have no idea what you
lose by it." We harm ourselves psychologically, emotionally and spiritually
when we constantly override our own deep desires and purposes in order to
address other's needs for attention or diversion.

You cannot change anyone else in order to build a better friendship.
You can only change yourself and modify what you bring to the
friendship. Here are nine "lessons" you may want to learn in order to
create, maintain and evolve a true friendship.

1. Give your friend more than he/she expects. Give, not for their
sake or the sake of the friendship. Rather, give for the joy you create
by giving.

2. Be quick to accept and forgive the hurts which are always
involved in friendship. You can't realistically expect to dance closely and
never step on one another's toes. When you apologize and ask for
forgiveness, look them directly in the eye. Don't let little conflicts
injure a great friendship.

3. Consciously choose your friends. Co-dependent friendships are
usually unconsciously chosen. Intentionally choose your friend on a
"soul-level."

4. Always tell the truth to your friends. Tell it about yourself.
Tell it about them. Tell it about your friendship. Ralph W. Emerson once
described "being permitted to speak truth" as one essential criterion for
friendship.

5. Acknowledge who your friend is now. Accept that they may grow,
change, and evolve. Sometimes your own growth as well as your friend's will
result in the dissolution of the friendship. Realize that such transitions
are natural and rejoice in them. Be patient with emerging friendships.

6. Risk loving deeply. Approach loving with reckless abandon. All
great achievements, all great friendships, all great loves, involve great
risks. Even if you are afraid, risk being loving in your friendships.

7. Make friends with those you love to talk with. Share your
knowledge. Listen passionately to theirs. When you leave such a
conversation, you will always feel energized.

8. Spend time alone. This will increase your self-awareness and
the likelihood you will take full responsibility for your own thoughts,
feelings and actions regarding your friendship...regarding your life.

9. Honor your friendship with gentle respect. Trying to force a
friendship is like tearing open a flower bud to make it bloom faster.
Forcing the evolution of friendships will destroy them.

Learn and practice these nine lessons in friendship, and within your
lifetime you may evolve more than just five true friendships. You will
certainly become a true friend yourself.

By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.

On Connectedness

Loneliness
Is
An island
In
The middle
Of
A sea of people
--R.R. (age 11)


Health Through Friendship:
According to research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,
having close friends you can count on has far-reaching benefits
for your physical and mental health.
A strong social network can be critical to helping you through
the stress of tough times, whether you've
had a bad day at work or a year filled with loss or chronic illness.
Dr. Edward T. Creagan is a cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic
and the author of "How Not to Be My Patient:
A Physician’s Secrets for Staying Healthy and Surviving any Diagnosis."
He says a prescription of friendship can go a long way toward a healthy future.
“Mounting evidence from sociologists, psychologists
and medical researchers suggests that strong social support
-- I like the term 'connectedness' -- can help a person live longer,” he said.
click on the link below to read more!!!
http://tinyurl.com/359svz

a vow to all my relations...old, new and even the ones I haven't met yet.

“I honor your Gods.

I drink from your well.

I bring an unprotected heart to our meeting place.

I hold no cherished outcome.

I will not negotiate by withholding.

I am not subject to disappointment.”

—Druid vow of friendship

This is my guide to all of my relations.

Respect. Connect. Release attachment to results.

Please remind me of this when I forget cuz I often need reminders!!!

have a great day!!!

Love,

Michele