“Holiday” Relationships

Thanksgiving comes and goes every year.  To some degree, it’s not much different than other holidays.  We use holidays as a time to get together with family and friends.

So often the way we live our family relationships are not much different than the relationship that some people have with church, “twice a year”.  The real sad part is that the holiday family script rarely changes:

1. show up

2. say “hello to everyone”

3. sit and chat with the relatives you see once or twice a year

4. watch TV

5. EAT

6. Talk about how you don’t get together enough

7. Hug and Leave

We have opportunities in life to connect with one another.  Rarely do we have a plan.  We sort of show up and do the same thing over and over that we have done before.  These moments pass and little has changed.

We need to do something different.  We need to focus on making moments count with those around us.  Those engagements are lost forever.  Worse, those hours of your life are gone.

This Christmas season make those moments count for something that lasts longer than you.  Really “connect” with those around you.  Make a decision to make a difference.

I think the biggest issue is that we all “go out into the world” to stake our claim.  We leave our family niched away in a box we percieve as “home”.  A couple of times a year, we get back there again.

What if we flipped that paradigm?  What if you made your family the place where you brought stuff back to, where you invested and expected a return?

We need to stop looking for validation from our family and start validating our family.