Spending Your Time With the Right People.

I had a great weekend this week, including a party at a friend’s house for a few of us who are having birthdays this month. My friend, I’ll call her Gracie, lives in a little condo above some shops in a picturesque little seaport town. Here place is a favorite of mine; homey and quaint with a beautiful view. But the real attraction is Gracie herself and the wonderful people she has attracted into her life.

There is a real diversity in Gracie’s circle of friends, which is by no means defined by the ones that I know. She has quite a circle, really. But this group includes men and women, different age groups, and professions ranging from artists to businessmen and from life coaches to carpenters. One thing they all have in common is a keen interest in spiritual growth, and that’s what binds them as a group. They all love one another as friends, but the original connection was spiritual.

My connection to them was through Gracie herself, whom I used to work with. She and I didn’t discover our similar spiritual interest until well after we’d ended that working relationship. I was fortunate to be invited to meet her friends, and I’ve been welcome there ever since. The conversation is always spirited, sometimes intense, but always peppered with a lot of laughter. We talk about life’s challenges, about how our varied beliefs occur in our day-to-day. We eat and drink together, and this weekend we blew out birthday candles and exchanged gifts, too. It was a great time; one of many.

I’m blessed to have great friends. I really appreciate the time that I spend with them, and they add immeasurable enjoyment to my life.

TIWIKE:

People are the juice of life, and we are nourished by our interaction with them. We all spend our lives belonging to or trying to fit in with others, whether it is at work, in the community or at school. Some people find it difficult to identify with any specific group. It isn’t always because they’re introverted. Even extroverts sometimes are challenged to find a group that they really feel comfortable with. That ease of fit is so critical… Without a social circle to belong to, it’s easy to feel isolated and alone. Of course, the internet helps to connect us in a way that we never thought possible, but being physically together adds tremendously to the experience of connectedness.

Seek out groups of people who add to your experience of life. Positive energy is absolutely contagious. Unfortunately, negative energy can be, as well. If there are people that you spend a lot of time with who seem to often or always be negative, maybe you should consider spending less time with them and more time with people who are upbeat and positive. We all have tough times, but some people live under a dark cloud and won’t come out. I’m not saying that you should abandon them necessarily, but you may want to balance that time with time spent among positive groups.

Reader questions: What groups do you find that you gravitate to? What do you have in common with them? What value do you get from the time that you spend with them? Do you have interests that you’d like to share with others, but can’t seem to find a connection? What are you doing about that? And finally, which groups that you currently belong to that you may consider leaving? Why?

Friends