Last night I had a beautiful semi-unplanned dinner party. It was a small affair (just five of us), but one of my close friends came over early in the afternoon and together we shopped for all sorts of fresh vegetables that struck our fancy and then took it all back to my apartment and spent the rest of the day cooking, talking, and laughing. By the time everyone was at my place we had a beautiful mushroom risotto, potato-stuffed italian peppers, and tomato-zucchini au gratin. We served water and wine and then tea after dinner. I cut up some fresh fruit while my friend and her boyfriend took over the kitchen and washed, dried, and put away everything we'd used to make/serve dinner. It was wonderful.
Then at some point I was thinking about the blog and that I hadn't yet posted for yesterday. And then it dawned on me. At that point, spending that time with friends was more important. What could I possibly have to share with you that could not wait until today?
Friendship is such a blessing in life. Whether, as I do, you believe that God sends people across your path in life or you believe that you simply meet people by chance, no one can argue that a good friendship just happens by chance. If you're lucky enough to have even one good friend (and I should mention that I suspect that anyone reading this is one of mine), it is important to spend time with him or her, or them, whether in person, or at least check in with them on the phone every once in a while.
I have read that the dynamic of friendship is a little different for men, but I'm talking about a kind of person that I hope everyone has in their life. I'm talking about the kind of person that you can really talk to, share your dreams with. This person might be your spouse or significant other; after all, I've noticed that a lot of brides gush that they are so lucky that they are about to marry their best friend. Think of who this person is for you. I have been blessed to have several in my life and even more blessed to know that they will be there for a very long time.
This all sounds very obvious, I am sure, but I wanted to dedicate a post to this topic because I believe that sometimes we think that finding our path is a solitary job, and the truth is that, while each one of us has everything we need to eventually find our way through life within us, the people who are close to us, both friends and family, know us and see who we are without being tangled in our thoughts. We also share things in common with them, which makes it easier to highlight some of our own characteristics to ourselves. Finally, because they care about us, our family and friends will offer us their own insights and ideas. For example, when my aunt read the first post of my blog she sent me an email suggesting that I look up books by Marcus Buckingham, who writes about finding your strengths. I was thankful because, even though I own several books already that focus on finding out what the reader would be most fulfilled doing in life, I have no idea where the answer might come from for me. Seeing that these books come with my aunt's personal recommendation, and remembering that she just went through her own period of searching for her path in life not too long ago, gave the books tremendous value for me in my search.
Maybe our friends and family don't know every tiny thing that there is to know about us. Maybe they don't know how we would enjoy specific jobs. However, they love us and they know us well enough to help steer us in the right direction and to support us while we pursue our dreams.
So, there I was last night, laughing with friends, realizing how blessed I am to have them, and also learning little things about myself along the way. For example, although I love flying, I hope that at some point I won't be flying as much as I am now because being home where I can meet up with friends on a regular basis is something very important to me.
Then at some point I was thinking about the blog and that I hadn't yet posted for yesterday. And then it dawned on me. At that point, spending that time with friends was more important. What could I possibly have to share with you that could not wait until today?
Friendship is such a blessing in life. Whether, as I do, you believe that God sends people across your path in life or you believe that you simply meet people by chance, no one can argue that a good friendship just happens by chance. If you're lucky enough to have even one good friend (and I should mention that I suspect that anyone reading this is one of mine), it is important to spend time with him or her, or them, whether in person, or at least check in with them on the phone every once in a while.
I have read that the dynamic of friendship is a little different for men, but I'm talking about a kind of person that I hope everyone has in their life. I'm talking about the kind of person that you can really talk to, share your dreams with. This person might be your spouse or significant other; after all, I've noticed that a lot of brides gush that they are so lucky that they are about to marry their best friend. Think of who this person is for you. I have been blessed to have several in my life and even more blessed to know that they will be there for a very long time.
This all sounds very obvious, I am sure, but I wanted to dedicate a post to this topic because I believe that sometimes we think that finding our path is a solitary job, and the truth is that, while each one of us has everything we need to eventually find our way through life within us, the people who are close to us, both friends and family, know us and see who we are without being tangled in our thoughts. We also share things in common with them, which makes it easier to highlight some of our own characteristics to ourselves. Finally, because they care about us, our family and friends will offer us their own insights and ideas. For example, when my aunt read the first post of my blog she sent me an email suggesting that I look up books by Marcus Buckingham, who writes about finding your strengths. I was thankful because, even though I own several books already that focus on finding out what the reader would be most fulfilled doing in life, I have no idea where the answer might come from for me. Seeing that these books come with my aunt's personal recommendation, and remembering that she just went through her own period of searching for her path in life not too long ago, gave the books tremendous value for me in my search.
Maybe our friends and family don't know every tiny thing that there is to know about us. Maybe they don't know how we would enjoy specific jobs. However, they love us and they know us well enough to help steer us in the right direction and to support us while we pursue our dreams.
So, there I was last night, laughing with friends, realizing how blessed I am to have them, and also learning little things about myself along the way. For example, although I love flying, I hope that at some point I won't be flying as much as I am now because being home where I can meet up with friends on a regular basis is something very important to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment