What 2017 Taught Me About Relationships

A friend took this and tagged me and her husband. Hi Kee!

At the start of 2017, I had friends, a few fairly close. But I wanted more and deeper relationships. A key to friendships, and how I gained most of mine, is it requires two people side-by-side facing an experience or challenge. Romantic relationships, you look at each other, friendships face forward at what’s ahead.

Intimacy, and by that I mean a deeper knowledge of each other, comes from time together in idle conversations. We can learn a lot when we get out of our own heads and listen. With the Homeless Ministry, those friendships are forged while feeding the hungry, and political conversations arise among cool heads. Or me and Jayla geek out over comics, which is preferential to politics these days. GriefShare alumni, friendships grow from the challenge of grief. We see people at their rawest.

In life, developing relationships and memories is what matters. The right relationships make life worth living, otherwise, it feels sterile and empty. They are the color of an otherwise black and white life. It’s good to stay in touch and involved with those you care for, even after they’ve moved away.

I cherish my friends, capturing experiences on paper like my wife Casey does with her thousands of pictures so that I won’t forget. I’ve read that you’re the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most and looking around, I can live with that. Those I have, they’re quickly becoming adopted family, if they aren’t already.

Go, be a friend, and you’ll make friends.