‘Friendship therapy’

I wrote about friendship therapy last week and I got good feedback from my readers who said that reading about the value of friendship made them think of their relationships with their friends, their strengths, weaknesses and most importantly, and what else they could do to improve these friendships.

Here are more excerpts from Friendship Therapy by Kass Dotterweich and John Perry:

• Be truthful with your friend. Truth and love are themselves friends; one without the other makes each less.

• Allow yourself to be loved by your friend. You can give only what you have received. When your friend knocks on the door of your heart with love, put out the welcome mat of your longing-to-be-loved self.

• Be open to finding new aspects of your true self in your friendship. When you see yourself in the eyes of a friend, you discover "you" as a fresh and exciting creation.

• Don’t falsely flatter your friend because you’re trying to avoid being critical. There’s another way–being affirming while expressing constructive, loving concern.

• Share a special time with your friend–an early morning breakfast, a walk at sunset, a late-night conversation. When your souls are free from the day’s concerns, you can savor the quiet bond between you.

• Touch your friend. When it is respectful and reassuring, not needy and demanding, touch between friends is sacred, connecting body and soul.

• Welcome magic and serendipity in your friendship. The most wonderful things can happen when two persons share their deepest selves.

• Pray with your friend and speak of God together. The most profound experience in friendship is to share your encounters with mystery.

• Set an anniversary date to mark the birth of your friendship. Together you can remember, laugh, cry and dream about the future.

• Celebrate your friendship with gratitude. Lift up your friend in thanksgiving and rejoice in God’s blessing.

Friendship is such an important part of our lives. Yet, with so many things we have to attend to, we sometimes take this priceless gift for granted.

Think or re-think of where you stand in your friendships. If you think you have things to make up for, then do so. No one is perfect. What matters is that you are humble enough to do something about them.

Let’s celebrate our friendships!

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E-mail me at: babyjackster@yahoo.com