Families and Spirituality
The World Can Be A Wonderful Place!
Families and Spirituality
Our families can be our relatives, our friends and our pets. The relationship between families and spirituality is key to a truly full and joyful life.
What would life be if our relationships were shallow?
What am I saying?! Many of our relationships ARE shallow. Sadly, many of us don't know our relatives very well. We know the minimal about those we love. And, we do love them. We may not like them, but we love them. We share history; we share memories; we share grief; we share joy; and we share blood.
What can we do to make these relationships better? I can already hear the protests: But THEY don't want more or THEY don't (fill in the blank)...
Yes, that's fine, because this isn't as much about them as it is about you. What can YOU do to feel closer to your 'families' and experience the joy of family and spirituality?
Families and Spirituality: Purpose to it All?
Families and Spirituality
Purpose of Relationships
Support?
Help?
Make us feel good?
Companionship?
I believe the purpose of relationships is to grow together spiritually. If our life purpose is to learn to love and to learn to be more Christ-like, then certainly the relationships we choose, help us to come closer to this goal.
Simply put, our relationships help us to be better people. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
We can find more meaning and purpose in life by appreciating the relationship between family and spirituality. Click here to learn more.
Families and Spirituality
Remember the details.
Don't forget birthdays and other important days. Remembering some of the less obvious milestones are even more
personal. What might some of these be? Remembering wedding anniversaries (more than just your own, of course!). I had a friend who lost her daughter. I remembered this anniversary because I knew it would be a difficult day for her. Be creative. It is not about how much it costs-only how much feeling is behind it. If it is important to them, it can be important to you. Email is fine, but a phone call is even better. Handwritten notes beat emails, but emails beat nothing at all. Remember details-tiny memories only you share with the others.
Families and Spirituality
Give Personal Gifts
Choose special gifts also make a big difference. I like things with photos that I took of the family member and myself. I've made little books with photos and special captions. You can find these online. I also saw some ads in the Sunday paper today that some of the local drug stores and others sell memory books. You design your own book and the book cover, also. It's fun and very personal. I made one for my husband for our first anniversary filled with photos and memories of our first year. Remember a gift must be something the recipient would really appreciate. Learning to give and receive love is one of our spiritual needs.
What's the link between families and spirituality? Click here to learn more about spirituality.
Thank you Very Much!
Thank you notes and other sentiments has gone out of style. We've just gotten too busy. What's that? Too busy to thank those who love us? Sounds silly, doesn't it. I'm guilty of this mis-step, but I'm working on it. I make a point of making phone calls, and send thoughtful gifts. The thank you notes: I'm working on it.
Love Notes
Love notes don't have to be full notes, but that would be nice. They can be tiny little expressions where one might least expect them. They can be surprises or part of a ritual. I used to put little notes in my son's lunch box once in awhile. I know it embarrassed him (he was about 7 at the time) but I always got an extra big hug when he came home from school. He liked it. I usually wrote something funny, wished him luck on a test, or just reminded him how much I loved him.
Get to know your family all over again.
When you spend time with family members, be present and attentive. Being present means that when you listen, you are
not doing anything else-not thinking about yesterday, tomorrow or taking mental note of your grocery list. Your mind
doesn't wander (much), you avoid doing anything else, if possible-such as cooking, and you really listen. You give
them lots of compassion. You know it's in there somewhere!
Return phone calls-promptly.
Make the first step and reach out without asking for anything-that's right-just reach out for no reason at all other than love.
There WILL be unresolved issues. This is a part of relationships. Learn to live with them and let them go. You'll be much happier.
Happiness is a choice! Don't believe me?
Read about depression and spirituality to learn how happiness is just one decision away.
Acknowledging your spirituality and makig some small changes can change your life.
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