Making Friendships Matter

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: A Sunday In June

Thank You
gentlesoul4peace


Two months ago, as part of a decision to create more support in our lives, a good friend and I agreed to start meeting for lunch once a month.

Like many friends, our lives would often get so busy that our
well-intentioned plans to see each other more would end up relegated to an occasional phone conversation just to catch up. As we've gotten older (and wiser), we've both decided that we want more.

After making the decision to meet, we decided to vary the day and time during the week to accommodate our changing schedules since we're both therapists in private practice. We've made it fun by trying a different restaurant each time. What started out as a friend's get-together has turned into an important commitment that we both value and cherish -- every single month.

During lunch we talk about anything and everything -- our practice, spirituality, new insights, what's currently driving us crazy, or the plans we have for our practice and our future. We laugh like crazy and also offer each other heartfelt guidance by listening carefully and providing feedback about the personal things that challenge our daily lives. We also discuss practical things -- technology tricks and shortcuts, recently found resources in the form of products or services, and upcoming seminars and workshops we are interested in attending.

After several months of holding our lunch meetings as sacred, here's what I've learned:

~*~ While email and phone calls keep people connected, nothing replaces the richness of face-to-face time. Nothing.

~*~ The more you meet, the closer you feel, and the more motivated you are to make your friendship a priority.

~*~ As close as two friends might be, there's a missed opportunity for so much more when you don't meet regularly.

~*~ The more you put into a friendship, the more you get out.

~*~ Seeing a good friend on a regular basis wraps you in a feeling of closeness and belonging that stays with you long after the lunch has ended.

Most important, my monthly meeting with my friend has shown me that there's something magical that happens when two people get together with the expressed intention to support each other. During each meal we've both had the experience of tapping into a collective pool of wisdom and insight that takes our lives to a whole new level -- a place that we couldn't have
accessed on our own.

Finally, the commitment to invest in this friendship has also taught me once again about the importance of putting action behind my words. If I say I care about you and that our relationship matters, then I need to back up that statement with action. Finding a way to make a regular date in a busy schedule is a small price to pay for the one thing that will matter most when we come to the end of our lives -- our precious relationships. I hope my experience inspires you to call a good friend this week to add a new level of richness to your life, too. There's nothing like it in the world . . .

This week, take the time to invest in a friendship that matters to you. Call and have a conversation about how you'll see each other more. Schedule time in your calendar to meet regularly over three months instead of only scheduling one visit. Then, do what you have to to make it work. You'll be surprised by how quickly you wonder why you hadn't done it long ago.


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