Photo by Chanan Greenblatt on Unsplash
How are your relationships?  How much time do you spend nurturing relationships?  I recently attended a college track reunion and saw people I hadn’t seen in over twenty-five years.  Running track with this group of guys was great.  We laughed, cried, were angry with each other at times, competed fiercely with and against each other, but at the end of the day, we loved each other.  It was great to catch up with them, but I also realized that many of these friendships had fallen by the wayside because I hadn’t made the effort to stay connected.  Sure I can rationalize it and say I’m really busy, but with today’s technology staying connected is a bit easier.  I’m invested in making an effort to be connected, how about you?  Another point about relationships, why do we treat those closest to us worse than strangers?  The facts are that strangers wouldn’t tolerate our garbage and our expectations for our spouse/family are sometimes unrealistic.  At some stage, we stopped making an effort to be nice and decided that those close to us are there to accept us regardless of our behaviors.  Lets face it, our relationships with our spouse and family are more difficult than any other.  At the same time, these relationships can be the most rewarding, fulfilling, and joyful.  Make the decision to treat those close to you with respect, love, trust, and forgiveness.  Relationships can be amazing, but they require attention, time, connection, and commitment.  Decide to be connected, you’ll be glad you did.