To Be a Friend

"To be a friend is to step into the stream of another's life."

-- Todd May

Facebook friends, work friends, old high school friends, friends with benefits -- there are all kinds of friends out there. Some merely stick their big toe into the stream of your life; others jump right in and cause a big splash.

We need all kinds, but perhaps the best, the most important friends, are the ones willing to be there in the thick of things with us, no matter what. They're not location-specific, or time-bound. They're not just your friends because you happen to work together or live next door to each other. They don't show up in an instant and fade out the next. They are with us for the long haul. Not only do they step into the stream of our lives, they let our streams co-mingle so that our lives nourish and impact each other.

One of the reasons that these soul friends are so important is that they are so rare. Most of us can count their number on one hand. That's OK. Three to five really good, lifelong friends is plenty -- we've each got a stream, not an ocean! You know who they are; they know who you are, without either of you having to say a damn thing about it. (OK, except maybe when you're both really drunk, and you get them in a headlock and slur, "I love you, buddy!").

But just because you don't talk about it, doesn't mean that you don't recognize the richness that these relationships bring to your life. One of the most wonderful things about these soul friendships is that you don't have to try to maintain them -- they are a given. That doesn't mean, though, that you should take them for granted.

Is there a true friend out there that you've not paid much attention to lately? If so, today is a great day to consciously reach out, give back, or show some form of appreciation. Go wade into the stream of their life for awhile, or invite them to sashay into yours. Hell, if they're really good friends, invite them to leap in, skinny dip and do the backstroke!

Celebrate the Recession!

"Real wealth is perishable: food, health, trees, flowers, herbs, healthy soil, clean water, fresh air, friends and art. Learn to value and appreciate those above all else."

-- Kevin & Donna Phillippe-Johnson

Economic downturns are not only inevitable, but also extremely useful. They are the perfect time to take stock of what is really important in life. Hint: It's not SUV's as big as Texas, jumbo, flat screen, high definition TV's, or overpriced dinners at those places that dribble little rivers of colorful sauce all over your plate.

Kevin & Donna have pretty much nailed what is important -- nature, health, friends and self-expression. Everything beyond that is at best gravy, at worst greedy consumerism that attempts to fill a hole in your soul with store-bought doodads.

Simplicity and serenity go hand in hand. They both produce and support each other. By valuing and appreciating the simple things, the real things, we not only experience joy and abundance, we insure that there are plenty of simple things, thus plenty of joy and abundance, to go around.

So celebrate the fact that our economy is in the crapper! Make your own wine, brew your own beer, and drink a toast to "market correction." It's going to get alot worse, folks, before it gets better, and, with any luck, "better" will not looking anything like we thought it did before.

Value the real wealth, the shared wealth of life. Appreciate the natural, the unadulterated. We are rich beyond our wildest dreams! And it has nothing to with GDP, stock prices or 401K's.

Beware of Friends!

"Friends are to be feared not so much for what they make us do as for what they keep us from doing."

-- Henrik Ibsen

Your friends know you. All too well. They know your dysfunctional behaviors, your self-imposed boundaries, your self-defeating habits, and they support you in maintaining them. They love you just the way you are. And that is the crux of the problem.

Your friends laugh with you. They smile at you. They cut you some slack and they encourage you to settle into your comfort zone. They like you. They like their relationship with you. The last thing they want you to do is change and grow and leave them eating your dust!

And so, no, they're not tying you down or physically holding you back, but they are subtly binding you to your past, to your previously chosen limits. Your comfort zone is their comfort zone, too. Save the boat rockin' for another day. The status quo is oh so fine.

So, love your friends and transcend them. Don't leave them, inspire them. Be more than they think you can be, do more than they think you can do. Surprise them. Startle them. Shock them into seeing you, and the world, through new eyes.

Old friends, new you. New ways of being, old hearts sill beating. Each day a new adventure. The old you is dead. Long live the new you!