Life in Small Bites - 3.11 Relationships

Lessons in Relationships - 'One Bite at a Time'This compilation of essays, quotations, and sayings from past and current sages on Family & Friends, Service, Thankfulness, and Spirit can guide and energize you into taking action that will support your ever-increasing personal development, your well-being and fulfilment, and of the those around you.FAMILY & FRIENDS“The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of your relationships.” - Anthony Robbins“If you associate with turkeys you will never fly with eagles.” - Brian TracyOne of my mentors has continually reinforced the principle that it doesn’t matter where you go in life, what you do…it’s who you have beside you. Most times we don’t choose our family, yet these persons, who care most for us, usually provide the experiential laboratory for what works and what doesn’t in human relationships. Nurturing and supporting these relationships are key components to our sense of Responsibility and Service.We do have choice in choosing our friends. Making good choices is one of the most important things we can do. The choices we make and how we cultivate and care for these relationships largely determine the success and joy that we experience.SERVICENo one can create joy, peace of mind, or fulfillment for us. Our first job is to create the conditions that allow them to occur. After safety and security these conditions must include a positive sense of personal gratitude and growth, family and social contributions, and others’ appreciation. For me, these Small Bites, as action steps, have contributed to the creation of these conditions.THANKFULNESSIt is said, “What gets measured gets managed.” For greater personal development, we must create a personal measure and management tool for our intangibles of:• Gratitude• Joy• Peace of Mind• Physical Health• Spiritual Peace• Sense of ContributionThese measures will be highly subjective and very personal. The effort you put into creating a personal benchmark which allows you to calibrate your current state of mind for these intangibles will be greatly rewarded.SPIRITSpirit is the connection to the Powers larger than we are. From cave-dwellers to moon-walkers, most humans have held to the belief that there is a Force and Universal Order that transcends human limitations and understanding. Linking to this Force, for many, is a source of hope, support, connection, and potential transcendence. The belief that one’s life has meaning beyond birthing and dying creates a palette and wonder for continual human metamorphosis and discovery. As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said,"We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a physical experience."