Relationships Matter

Someone I knew in 2001, showed up in my life again after all these years. I really connected with her at that time and yet I did not make the effort to keep that connection.

A good friend and ex-head hunter sent me some photos of a small luncheon he organised. It was on teacher's day with his old school teachers, mostly retired. My friend is 50. He told me that as he gets older he is more interested in giving back to people who have touched his live in some way.

I want to do that too and I often start out with the best intentions of wanting to reach out to people I know but somehow I get busy....
If I were to think of what my friend does that others don't, he actually follows up on his intention. The reason my friend was a successful head hunter was because he stayed in touch, he built a friendship with the people he dealt with and he genuinely cared about them. Its the caring that fuels the intention.

We cant say we care about someone and yet not make the effort to connect with them. Relationships give us reason to get up in the morning and get out into the world.

Relationships also matter because it provides us and those we are in a relationship with a feedback mechanism to improve ourselves especially those that challenge us. Most people tend to move towards others who are similar to themselves and move away from those who are different. But who can we learn more from?

A good friend, Gary Yardley , taught me that I have more to learn from my prejudices than my preferences.

Today, I will energise my intention with action and reach out to people i have meaning to contact. I will also really push my boundaries to find common ground with people who are different from me

.......whats the use of being a pet dog when you can be a wandering dog!!