It strikes me that Marie Kondo's method of assessing whether or not to keep a belonging--"does it spark joy?" works extremely well for relationships of all kinds--including friendships. That thought came up as I rested after recent surgery, considering the hundreds of virtual strangers--Facebook . . .
Let's take a moment for self-examination. I do this, every so often, myself, and I thought I'd share. How do we affect others? Do they come away with smile? a good feeling? uplifted? Or do we drag them down? Are our interactions with others positive and warm? Or are they negative and dark? When . . .
"Last year you decided to weed out people who weren't reciprocal, and you did," my husband reminded me at the end of December. "So what's your goal for this year?" What? I hadn't remembered last year's goal. I'm not big on annual resolutions or even a word for the year but weeding out was . . .
Safe shelter. That's all any of us are looking for in another. Being seen. I mean, really being seen. It's the beauty of our relationship with our pets, isn't it? Because they have no judgment. Nothing gets in the way of our pets seeing us at our core. Knowing us. Knowing exactly who we are. Riley . . .
Do you remember any particular turning point in your life? Maybe a time when you ended a bad relationship? Or left a job that no longer fulfilled you? This has been the Year of the Turning Point for me in a bunch of different ways. I've always talked big about culling relationships that no longer . . .
See me Feel me Touch me Heal me Who sees you? Oh, I don't mean by eyesight. I mean really, really SEES you, the totality of the person you are. Think about it. Is there anyone like that in your life? Even if you think hard, I'll bet you won't be able to come up with that many people who really . . .
A longtime friend was feeling nostalgic one night, not too long ago, and emailed me with memories of a time he felt alone and we stepped up and were there for him. We were so young, all those years ago, but it's nice to remember that even that young, our hearts were in the right places. Old . . .
There's a lot going on in my life and only so much time, which means I can't do everything. As part of my ongoing effort to set limits for myself, I'll sometimes look at relationships that are beginning to feel unbalanced. Sometimes I feel as if I am not giving enough. But more often, taking stock . . .
I'm a planner. I've always been a planner. But I haven't always planned as far ahead as I do now. I'd like to be more spontaneous all the time, but it's not possible. Not all the time. Here's why: The Petsitter Our petsitter books way in advance. If we're going to take off for more than half a . . .
I am the queen of the long distance relationship and that includes friendships. My policy is, why let geography limit you? Here's why: because it means you can't be there in person when you want. And that was never more true that recently, when someone dear to me and 3,000 miles away needed help. . . .
