Special Edition September, 2007 Inspirational and Motivational articles, quotes, and more for living a better and charmed life.

Special Edition September 2007

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My Spirit Welcomes Your Spirit! Hello, to All ! I was given an article to put  into the September 5, 2007 newsletter and I didn't. The article was given to me specifically for the newsletter.  So I needed to send out this special edition.  There will only be the one article, as it is quite long.  I hope you receive something from it. And as always, my Spirit is sending blessings, love, and prayers to your Spirit! Til next time! Sue Do you have a topic you would like me to address in an upcoming issue? If so please feel free to email me at rebootyourlife@suesunshine.com.  Also if you have any comments, tips, or ideas to contribute, please feel free to share them with me by sending them to rebootyourlife@suesunshine.com. I just love your participation! Back to Top

 

Reboot Your Life™

"Friendship is Like Fine China" Back in the 1950's when I was a young girl, autograph books were a big thing: the 'in' thing. (Am I showing my age here?)  Even the teachers would sign those books.  Who would have thought at that time the words written would still make an impact over a half-century later? Some of them have.  For me, one in particular has remained with me all of these years, only to spring to my mind on various occasions. "Friendship is like fine china, Once broken, the crack always remains." Fine china can be displayed with a crack in it.  However, it is not suitable for serving food. Even displaying it can be offensive to the eye.  The owner of the cracked piece may use a special glue to keep the pieces together.  A special substance may be used to hide the crack so the fine china can at least be displayed.  The crack is still there, though, and the china can never be used as it once was.  Great care is needed in the handling of it.  As beautiful as the piece may be, sometimes it is thrown completely away, because the owner feels it is beyond repair.  The crack was not only unsightly, it weakened the very foundation that held the piece of fine china together. So here we have a piece of fine china.  It is cracked, ugly, and weakened to its very core. How does this relate to a friendship, or any other type of relationship? Relationships are just as fragile as fine china.  They chip, then crack, and lastly break wide open.  They can be weakened and then discarded, or they can be repaired.   But can they ever be put back to the original shape:  without the crack and weakened state? Most relationships that have ended or have been cracked took time to get to that point.  It didn't happen overnight.  The participants may not have even been aware of the crack about to appear.  Unlike fine china that slips from the fingers and falls to crack or break in pieces, friendship is eroded from the inside out along with tiny nicks on the outside.  These weaken the foundation of the relationship.  The nick turns into gouges.  The internal erosion spreads.  Then one trigger, one word, action, or deed, that would not have caused a total breakdown of communication, or of the relationship itself, is the turning point.  It shifts the relationship.  How one handles that shift determines the fate of the relationship. Some people throw it in the trash and walk away.  They may occasionally wonder about it, but then they put it out of their mind, because to them it is gone. Others try to do a quick patch job.  All the 'I'm sorrys' in the world are not good patches. They help but without anything else to support them the relationships are easily cracked again and again until they become totally broken. Then there are those who take a step or two back to assess the situation.  They take the broken relationship quite seriously.  They take the time to analyze the situation:  what caused the break; can the break be repaired; do I want to repair it; how do I repair ; and why do I want to repair it?  Most people don't take this time.  They discard relationships as easily as a piece of trash.  We are a throw-away society and our relationships are no different.  If it is broken, or even just cracked, we throw it away.  Another one is always available.  Maybe a different make or model, but it doesn't need repair or the time it takes to repair it. Friendship, as in all types of relationships, takes work.  Anyone involved needs to take an active part in seeing that there is no erosion or nicks that are not taken care of right away. By this I mean a line of communication needs to remain open.   Not hurting the other person's feelings is taken to such great lengths nowadays that health issues are becoming more prominent.  Stomach problems, throat problems, and paralysis, just to mention a few, are prevalent in this society.  We are so afraid we are going to hurt someone else we end up hurting ourselves.   If you are in a friendship or relationship that is hurtful to you in any way, decisions need to be made.  (I am not talking about domestic, abusive relationships here.  That is a completely different issue.)   The fear of hurting someone is the first hurdle to get over.  A conversation needs to happen. Any erosions or nicks need to be addressed so they don't get bigger. Many times even done from love one of the parties of the friendship gets their feelings hurt.  Both sides see the same thing from different perspectives.  This is human.  If a person gets hurt by what is said about the relationship they need to look inward to see why that hurt appeared.  They should not blame the person who is being honest and sincere with them, who is taking the time to try to make the friendship stronger. However, if a person truly wants the friendship/relationship to work, love needs to be the key.  Love is what does the healing  The healing process takes time.  It doesn't happen overnight.  And the process may only affect one of the parties involved.  The other party may have already thrown the relationship in the trash or is still working on the healing process. Bottom line is to keep communication open and don't hold things in:  talk about them even if they may hurt.  Take the time to allow the healing process to do its work.  Unlike fine china we can actually heal physically without any scars.  It is done from from the inside out.  So doesn't it make sense to heal relationships the same way? Perhaps the quote at the beginning needs to be revised. "Friendship is not like fine china. Once broken the crack doesn't always remain." © 2007, L. Sue Durkin You may use the material in this newsletter as long as you keep the copyright in tact. From Reboot Your Life Newsletter ©2007, L. Sue Durkin - All Rights Reserved Reprinted with Permission Back to Top

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Reboot Your Life™ is a free monthly newsletter published by L. Sue Durkin, Editor & Contributing Author. © 2007. © 2007, L. Sue Durkin - All Rights Reserved From Reboot Your Life Newsletter ©2007, L. Sue Durkin - All Rights Reserved Reprinted with Permission Email Sue: rebootyourlife@suesunshine.com Back to Top

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You are receiving this F-R-E-E newsletter because you are on an option-in mailing list through www.zinester.com. You can unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions at the bottom of the page. You may use the material in this newsletter as long as you keep the copyright in tact and use the following: From Reboot Your Life Newsletter ©2007, L. Sue Durkin Reprinted with Permission  Please recommend this newsletter to anyone you know who is interested in living a better life. PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not distribute your email address to anyone. Period. You will only receive email messages from us that contain requested information, new monthly articles or announcements of new services. You are currently subscribed to Reboot Your Life™ as: email@domain.com. If you have received this mailing in error or wish to remove yourself from this mailing list, click here. Back to Top