Still Ill, Reveries Upon Friendship---Avoiding Emotional Vampires and Those Who Only Live From the Neck Up ............................ 12/28/12

Saturday, I'll cycle beneath similar clouds and terrain. 

      Good late evening everyone,

How was your day?  Ill, I am.  I worked today, just barely.  Someone new, I met.

      We had a two hour lunch at Jim's in Alameda, a good place to eat.  The conversation was
intense.  After awhile, I realized it could go at full speed, and it did.  I cancelled any ideas of working after the session that followed my meeting with "Bob."  I was so invigoratingly depleted.

      My body is languishing, feeling weak; I'll be glad when my health is restored. Napping for several hours this evening helped.

       Thank you, for dropping by.  The year's end is nearing, a good time for making goals.  I'm updating mine.  Soon, I'll share them with you.

       It is a because of vision casting that I live on an island, see clients in Alameda and enjoy the friends I have.  I'm eager for what life holds.  I love my vocation and thankful for the Great Big Life I enjoy.

Gratitudes for Today:
1.  Balance.  This is what life is all about.  Caring for others, caring for self. For more about the latter, please read here.
2.  Rest.  I'm the only person on earth that can make my welfare my number one priority.  Down time provides opportunities for reflection and communion with God.  We are not circus dogs----we do not have to jump through hoops of accomplishing Herculean tasks----in order to be approved.  We are NOT what we do.  We have value simply because of who we are.  There will never be another special person, like you.
3.  Health.
    At present, I am not where I want to be, physically; still, I am healthy enough to enjoy birdsongs, appreciate the cool caresses of winter breezes and thankful I stand on my own two feet.  There may be days in the far future when this may not be the case.  I know this fact, from personal experience, having worked with the elderly.

4. Good friends.

      What is life, without dear friends?  This word is bandied about. FaceBook has cheapened it.  It's impossible for someone to have one thousand friends, or even three hundred friends, for that matter.

       For me, a friend is one that I'm in contact with at least one hour a week.  I'll make that every two weeks. Wow, that still removes many that we would consider as such.

       A good friend loves at all times---not just for how we look, or for what we have, now.  (Proverbs 17:17)  We share history and love together, our shoulders and hands have touched.  We've seen both the fine and less refined aspects of each other, and still share a bond of love and appreciation. And, there's that important quality: reciprocity.

       An authentic friendship is topped with a gracious, loving, honesty that supports one another.  To have such friends, we need to be one.

 "He who has friends must show himself friendly."  Proverbs 18:24

      I'm glad my friends are not ones who blather on, complaining, day in and out.  I don't have such friends.  Nearness to such toxicity is harmful for my equanimity and joy.  I don't relate with emotional vampires---those who suck my positive energy, in their attempt to satisfy the hole in their soul.  My friends care about me, my needs, feelings and values.

      We are the average of the five people we hang out with.  I connect with upbeat, disciplined, loving, positive, in-the-solution type of people, who are optimists.  No Draculas in my life.  Nope.

      Earlier this year, I almost started a relationship with someone who reads nearly a book a day.  My, was that not impressive.  In fact, to discover he did that was horrifying.  It let me know he only stays within his mind---a horrible situation, "always learning, but never coming to the truth."

      No way can a person grasp, at the cellular level what they are learning, at a book a day rate.  Sometimes, ONE SENTENCE  has been more than enough for me to dwell upon, for five years.

      Books were NOT given to us to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.  I'd rather meditate and apply five sentences today, and make them a part of my growing wisdom----that I apply in my life----than read 3,000 sentences and not have them a part of me, at the cellular level.

      We worship knowledge when wisdom is preferred and more useful.

How About You? 
1. What are your friendships like?  What do you enjoy about them and what do you look for, when you bond with another?
2.  What is non-negotiable in your relationships?  For me, it's a lack of reciprocity, plain and simple.