Friends come in many forms: family, spouse, colleagues, and strangers we have met during our life’s journey.   These individuals teach us many attributes of how to manage relationships.  They are also around for the highs, the lows, the joy, and the pain.  They are our people. They understand us when no one else can or when no one else does.  The relationships are important for us to nurture due to the role they play in our daily lives.

From style tips, to motivation, to accountability, and more; our friendships are the glue that keeps us together.  The people in our friendships bring us joy when we are down.  They motivate us when we are stagnant.  They also humble us when we are a little too proud. We learn to navigate our friendships and relationships with our family.  I feel like my sisters and cousins were my first friends.  They taught me how to show up for my future friendships and even relationships.  Because of my family, I learned that friendships are honest, they are accountable, they are understanding, they are safe, they are accepting, and most importantly, friendships are love.

Over the years, I’ve learned to cultivate my friendships and relationships by reciprocating what others are giving to me. It is important for me to give those things back to the individual because I would like them to feel the same joy, love, and support. By nurturing my friendships, rather husband, friend, family, children, etc., I feel less stressed day-to-day.  I also feel a greater purpose in my day-to-day.  I am able to have more empathy for others.  I am also able to have more empathy for myself.

Our friendships, whether family or stranger, are all relationships we have made a proactive decision to nurture.  In many instances, friends become family. The reason for this is because we feel connected.  We not only feel connected, but we also feel safe.  With our spouse or partner, we feel connected, safe, and desired creating intimacy in the relationship.  All of these contribute to how we show up on a day-to-day basis in all aspects of our lives.  We need to have people in our lives that we feel bonded or connected to.  Creating friendships via family, friend, or spouse, allows us to always have someone in our corner that will be honest and support us through all decisions, good or bad. Friendships give us the feel of the village we had growing up as a kid.