For a while I was friendless…..
And I was doing ok with it until my daughter, Niiki, came home from college and one day said,
“Mom you have no friends…. no one calls and you don’t go anywhere!”
I felt jolted….
I was immersed in full-time work and being a full-time caregiver.
I had lost myself, my why, my energy, my direction, my goal.
I was just existing…. and it felt fine until my baby girl pointed it out.
I accepted the challenge, decided to make an effort to change…… and as per usual, I wrote it down as a goal.
And started to first work on me being a better friend to the people I knew.
That was 2015.
Within a few months, we were on a cruise….
And the rest is history.
Today, I have some really great friends….
People I’m grateful for and people I can count on.
Loneliness can touch many of us from time to time, but sometimes it sticks around long enough to actually change the way we interact with people.
But loneliness doesn’t necessarily mean that you have no friends at all.
Loneliness can happen even when you have many social contacts.
After all, you can be surrounded by people all the time but if none of them knows the real you, it can make you feel just as lonely as if you had no friends.
Friendship, on the other hand, requires work…..
Simply put, we must show up for our friends.
Like anything else in life, if we want to remain friends with someone, we need to muster the time and energy to maintain the relationships we profess to value.
Reciprocity is also key.
The glue that binds us together in a successful friendship is our ability to give and take.
And it bears repeating…..
Friendship takes work….. like any other meaningful relationship.
You’ve got to write, you’ve got to call, you’ve got to visit.
Many of our “cyber-bonds” are often anything but meaningful, and can actually be a way of not engaging deeply with others.
Social media should never replace the authenticity and intimacy of face-to-face interactions.
But being comfortable when you’re alone, and even craving some time to yourself is healthy and can actually help you develop better relationships in general.
Find a good balance.
Have a great week!
From the heart of a nurse…….
Althea
#WalkGood
