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Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Friendship
“It is easy to say how we love new friends, and what we think of them, but words can never trace out all the fibers that knit us to the old.” George Eliot
Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Friendship
Did you know that yesterday was International Friendship Day at the UN? I decided it would be a terrific idea to revisit the subject of friendship, even though, I’ve written so much on the subject on this blog. Why does the topic fascinate me? Why does the subject intrigue you? Friendships have held our attention for ages because they are one of the most precious relationships we will have in our lifetime. Some people hold their friends in higher esteem than they do family members because a true friend is a reservoir of the deepest secrets, and is often held up as an example of unequivocal Trust. The gift of true friendship is a very special boon because it is not an easy relationship to form and it takes time, commitment, trust and sincerity to build.
Once we get clear about our friendships, we will notice that our true friends make time to talk with and encourage us. While most of us have many acquaintances we share fun times with, there is a clear distinction between our closest friends and our acquaintances. My dad used to say that to have even 1-2 friends who stay true to us, lift us up when we are down and applaud our successes is a rare gem and a sign of great fortune. We know we have a true friend when we can be vulnerable in their presence, be open about our struggles and share our foibles with that person and not feel judged. Today, let’s honor all the TRUE friends in our lives. Our family members are our first friends because they know us well and have watched us grow but, there are others who enter our lives and bring an eternal gift of friendship with them. You know who those people are. Cherish them and express your gratitude for having someone to share a lifeline together.
A Time to Talk By Robert Frost
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don’t stand still and look around
On all the hills I haven’t hoed,
And shout from where I am, ‘What is it?’
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I go up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
Source: via familyfriendlypoems
READ: Inspiration: A Season Of Friendships
Motivation Mondays: FRIENDSHIP
Online Friendships: An Adventure Meeting a Twitter Friend Offline…
“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.” Henry David Thoreau
Motivation Mondays: Revisiting Friendship
What about International Day of Friendship? Why does it matter? If we think about it carefully, it takes unity and friendship to keep nations at bay instead of fighting each other. International Friendship Day was an initiative proposed by UNESCO and adopted by the General Assembly in 1997. The original impetus for this special day was to encourage a culture of peace around the world and, by 1999, the UN had adopted 8 areas of concern that remain in the forefront of international relations around the the globe. Every year, on July 30, the UN uses the opportunity to remind us of the power of friendship to heal, help and rebuild torn nations. We can use this opportunity to do some reconnecting and rebuilding in our lives too.
What are those 8 areas of concern? What do we need to remember when we think of friendship between nations and people? To build meaningful relationships between individuals and nations, we must remember: to foster a culture of peace through education; promote sustainable economic and social development; promote respect for all human rights; ensure equality between women and men; foster democratic participation; advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity; support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge; AND promote international peace and security. If we made a commitment to honor these areas of concerns in our neighborhoods and homes, we will be on the road to a more unified global community. The road to friendship begins with each step we take to connect with others.
READ: Friendships: Something So Strong….
Reflections: Defending Our Friendships
Friendship: It’s In The Cards…
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for June/July 2017 are:
06/05 – World Environment Day, 08 National Best Friend Day, 08 World Oceans Day
06/11 – 11 Trinity Sunday, 14 Flag Day
06/18 – 18 Father’s Day, 19 Juneteeth, 20 World Refugee Day, 21 Summer Solstice/International Yoga Day, 23 Intn’l Widow’s Day, 24 Ramadan Ends
06/25 – 25 Eid al Fitr, 26 Against Drug Abuse Day,
07/04 – Independence Day,
07/11 – World Population Day, 14 Bastille Day
07/16 – National Ice Cream Day, 18 Nelson Mandela Day
07/23 – Parents Day, 28 World Hepatitis Day
07/30 – International Friendship Day
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2017?
– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.
— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab
More Below Read more…
“I think the greatest satisfaction anyone will get in their lives, is when they make a difference to somebody else’s life.” — Sir Richard Branson
Photo Challenge: LIFE SATISFACTION – TOP 10 LIST
1. Family – My family is dear to me and I look to them first for clarity, comfort and more…
2. Friends – We all need at least 1 true friend in our lives. The more the merrier. They remind us of our best selves
3. Faith – Call it what you wish. A belief in a higher purpose makes meaning of life and daily struggles
4. Service to others – Richard Branson said it best above. Service to others adds grace and gratitude to our lives
For our weekly photo challenge, on SATISFACTION, I tried to look for photos that expressed my understanding of what a satisfying life would include. Sure, a good cup of coffee in the morning or an early jaunt around town at dawn could be very satisfying but, I chose to look at the theme from a life perspective. These 10 values are what I believe most of us are experiencing or contemplating when we think of having lived a satisfying life. The order might vary or some folks might swap out a few but, the fundamental reasons most share about living satisfactory lives begins with some version of the 4 listed above. Why? Because we cherish our closest human interactions, our beliefs, our ability to serve and the love and joy they bring us.
The two center photos above are worth explaining. The first is of my younger sister, Goz, and her daughter, and my twins. I took that shot when she visited the US some time ago. It’s a very happy picture and fits right in. I come from a large family with many siblings and extended relatives. We cherish our bond and this was just one small way of sharing that. The photo below it is a group shot of me and a few girlfriends at a sendoff we had for one of our friends, Anne Marie; she is wearing the white shirt. I’m sitting in the middle in a black jacket. She was moving with her hubby and kids to Norway and we wanted to make it a special farewell. Friendships are very important to human interaction. They give us much to celebrate.
READ: How To Be More Satisfied With Your Life – 5 Steps Proven By Research
Life Satisfaction and Its 7 Contributors
“To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, is to live twice.” Khalil Gibran
Photo Challenge: LIFE SATISFACTION – TOP 10 LIST
5. Food – Daily sustenance comes from food; it’s medicine for the body/mind/soul. What we eat keeps us energized. Indulge sometimes.
6. Healthy habits – Includes exercise, rest, mental-health care, check ups and everything else that helps us stay healthy
7. Work – Meaningful work is very important to our overall sense of well-being. Plus, work gives us purpose and duty.
Since I love creating collages, I chose photos that expressed some aspect of the ten satisfying ways of living I listed. I added the shot of me and my kids to show how time flies and why it is important to nurture our relationships and do the best we can to sustain them. Sure, we all have challenges in our relationships and there are good and not so good times but, the bond is sustained by the memories we share and new ones we hope to create. Hold your family dear. I chose the dessert photo because it is delicious and seemingly decadent yet healthy. Life is a bowl of cherries when you can make a healthy fruit and lite whip treat that looks dangerous but tastes like heaven. Ha! The quote from Sir Richard Branson speaks for itself. What would you add to your top 10 list?
READ: The Ten Happiest Jobs
More Below Read more…
Motivation Mondays: PARENTING
“There is no such thing as a perfect parent so just be a real one.” Sue Atkins
Motivation Mondays: PARENTING
Relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose. Mayim Bialik
The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is the best after all. Benjamin Spock
You know, parenting is so personal. And we’re all afraid that we didn’t quite get it right. And it feels like the stakes are so high. By we – what if we made a mistake? Amy Chua
What Motivates Us as Parents? Yesterday was Parents Day and the celebration brought back memories of my own childhood and the many women; mom, grand-moms, stepmom, foster mom, aunts and close female friends of the family who played an important role in my childhood. It brought back memories of the men too; my Dad and my uncles who stepped up to the plate to encourage and support me. All of these people added a nugget of wisdom to my basket of learning and taught me what to do and not to do as a parent. When we come to the topic of parenting, it is critical that we remember one very important point – Parenting Is Personal. There is no absolute way to parent and just because we see X do Y doesn’t mean that it would work for us. We bring our personal history and experiences to the role of parent and each journey is unique. When I became a parent, I knew there was a lot to learn and no parenting, one-size-fits-all manual. I knew I wanted to parent differently from the way I was raised because it was a different generation and my husband and I wanted something else for our twins. The love and support of my friends, family, and nannies, common sense on my part and my spouse, and the forgiving, open hands and love of our babies meant we had a chance to do our best with love, care and dedication to the task. Were we perfect? Nobody is… Did we have all the answers? No. But we gave it our all and our babies were right there teaching us as much as they were learning from us… that experience was hugely motivating and priceless.
What Motivates Parenting Styles? Sure, we wanted to raise our kids differently, yet, we didn’t abandon all of the parenting styles of our parents…What a surprise, right? Well, it isn’t when you think about it. We take the things we like, develop our own strategies, and leave the rest. That is why we must stay vigilant as parents and check in to ensure we are giving it our best shot. For me, I would say my mom passed on her love of gardening, cooking, adventure, and a boldness about life and its struggles. My dad passed on a love for learning, a generous spirit, a strong work ethic, self-respect and a legacy of faith in the wisdom of God, mother earth, the universe and the greater goodness of people. They both had their shortcomings but what I’ve come to do, over the years, is to remember what I cherished most about them. My many other parent figures sprinkled their own life lessons in the mix and all served a greater purpose: to give me a full vision of the world around me and beyond. It’s easy to go through life assuming all our beliefs are self-taught but, they aren’t. We are influenced by our family, our experiences and by many others. We are exposed to the thoughts and actions of people we look up to and admire, and their influence has an impact on our lives; good, bad and everything in-between. Our thoughts have tremendous power, and we can use that power as individuals and parents to help, hurt or heal ourselves and others. If we are exposed to environments that are empowering and that encourage positive ways of viewing the world, we will adopt those teachings and parenting tips and make them part of our life’s work.
READ: On Life: Ten Lessons We Learn From Our Children…
Musings: Ten Things To Stop Worrying About…
“Parenting is the easiest thing in the world to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing in the world to do.” Matt Walsh
Motivation Mondays: PARENTING
We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves. Henry Ward Beecher
Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. Robert Fulghum
Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk. Carl Jung
At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents. Jane D. Hull
What Motivates our Parenting Styles? When my kids were younger, we created a schedule for them that included nap-time, mealtime and outside activities. The schedule allowed pockets of time when I could have Me Time to focus on myself and the things I needed to do for work. It varied from day to day but always included prayer/meditation time so I could regroup and rest. Regardless of the goals we have, it is important to create a daily plan that includes some time for reflection in our daily schedule of activities. Why? Our creative, intuitive side is enhanced when we give ourselves time to regroup, refresh and/or find solutions to issues. Plus, by maintaining healthy self-renewal habits, we are able to bring more to our parenting relationship. We also made sure that our kids were exposed to diverse people and places. We wanted them to experience the world we inherited, to embrace it with all its complexities and differences, and to show them that there are many things that connect us, especially, — our common humanity.
We traveled with them and welcomed friends into our homes without prejudice. This is what mattered to us and we didn’t want to live a hypocritical life as we knew that the Fulghum and Jung quotes were quite true. We didn’t want our children to grow up saying that they wish someone had guided them earlier in life and taught them that hate/prejudice/discrimination is not an answer. Did we shield them from the realities of the world we inhabit? No. We showed them that we all make choices and that there are other options. If nothing else, we wanted them to make their own assessment of how to interact in a world that can be challenging and not always fair. When we raise kids and encourage them to develop reason and logic, we are preparing them for a healthy world. What’s the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you as a child?
READ: Reflections: The Kids Advantage…
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for June/July 2017 are:
06/05 – World Environment Day, 08 National Best Friend Day, 08 World Oceans Day
06/11 – 11 Trinity Sunday, 14 Flag Day
06/18 – 18 Father’s Day, 19 Juneteeth, 20 World Refugee Day, 21 Summer Solstice/International Yoga Day, 23 Intn’l Widow’s Day, 24 Ramadan Ends
06/25 – 25 Eid al Fitr, 26 Against Drug Abuse Day,
07/04 – Independence Day,
07/11 – World Population Day, 14 Bastille Day
07/16 – National Ice Cream Day, 18 Nelson Mandela Day
07/23 – Parents Day, 28 World Hepatitis Day
07/30 – International Friendship Day
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2017?
– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.
— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab
More Below Read more…
