Honor my Friendships

I want to honor my friendships, my bond with those essential people who love and support me, teach me and learn from me, and who help me discover my true self. I want my friendships to deepen and grow stronger. I can take better care of all my friendships with a little intentional nurturing.

Agenda:

1. Read "Everyday Simplicity"
2. Resilience tasks
3. Friendship tasks

1. Read "Everyday Simplicity":

I bought myself this little book, by Robert J. Wicks (2000), as a birthday treat. The subtitle is: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth.

Chapter 2 is Softening the Soul, which focuses on the first of three parts of spiritual growth - Nourishing a spiritual attitude.

"Our spiritual attitude is the soil in which our prayer life grows and from which the gift of compassion is offered. The search for spirituality doesn't begin in exotic places. Quite simply, it starts with the human heart".

Do people feel my loving, holy nature when they are with me, or does my impatience and defensiveness get in the way? Do my grandsons experience me as a kind, wise woman or a "Bad Guy," (as Arthur sometimes calls me)?

How I approach life - my spiritual attitude - determines what I am able to give and to receive. I must let my defenses down, be calm, and real, and in-the-moment, so that the spirit of God "can be received and can shine through" me.

2. Resilience skills plan:
I set a goal at the start of the year to build my resilience, but I'm having a hard time pinning down what that means. 

Resilience is the ability to successfully adapt to stressors and bounce back from difficult experiences; it's a set of practical skills that allow me to be strong, flexible, creative, hopeful, and positive. Resilience skills replace coping skills, such as drinking, over-eating, and mindless spending.

Some of the categories of resilience skills include- 

• Wellness of body
• Wellness of mind (mindfulness, hope, creativity)
• Emotional awareness and regulation
• Building social connections
• Creating purpose
• Stability (being proactive with finances, home care, future planning)

This week's resilience plan: 

1. New health habit #6: Foot care.
2. Love Cycle: Practice being calm and wise for family and friends, and build friendships.
3. Mindfulness: Celebrate and share joy
4. Stability: Clear studio to create room for teaching (and a hot tub).

3. Friendship tasks:

So, I have two friendship tasks this week: 

First- practice being the calm, wise woman my friends and family need me to be. I know HOW to do this... I just need to catch myself before I spiral into defensiveness or impatience, take a breath or two, loosen my shoulders, and smile through it.

Secondly, take some time to build my friendships. Send valentines, make a phone call to check in, invite a friend to meet for coffee or take a walk. Especially look for ways to nurture a new friendship or two! Make some plans and spread them out over the rest of the month.