Grateful for Relationships, Family & Friends

Relationships are what make the world go round. Without them, little could be accomplished. No building, business, or family can be built without a relationship. Everything requires some type of interpersonal transaction – either purchasing supplies, acquiring clients, or forming an alliance to raise children. Even if you could construct a building by yourself, you couldn’t make the nails, the concrete, wood, sinks, or appliances. You might be able to form a business without anyone’s help, but you wouldn’t have a business without customers, and to keep them you must value and nurture those relationships. A family consists of more than one person and the best families show love and support for one another. They are a team.

The more gratitude we have for these relationships, the better they function. Dysfunctional relationships involve taking someone for granted or having inadequate consideration for the needs of others. There is a lack of balance and respect – people do what they want regardless of the effect it has on their loved ones. This builds anger, resentment, and eventually apathy – the precursor to a dying relationship.

When a person is grateful for a relationship, they don’t take it for granted. They continue to show appreciation for the other’s participation and efforts. They sincerely praise and appreciate the other’s assets and contributions. They have the courage to make requests for what they’d like as opposed to criticism for what they don’t like or don’t want. This keeps things in a positive rather than negative spiral.

Rather than seeing relationships as a burden, grateful people see connections as building blocks to better things. They grow their lives, their workplace, and their families with love and support. They have a vision for the betterment of all and their actions match their words in daily living.

Speaking of words, grateful people know that their word is the greatest way to show their gratitude for others. It is the bedrock of any relationship. They say what they mean and mean what they say. If they tell you something, you know it is true and you can count on them being their word. They keep their promise. They speak the truth without tiptoeing around something they imagine you won’t like – the ultimate insult. But they use their words with love and kindness.

Some people feel burdened by relationships. They forget that without a relationship, they have little. Gratitude for family builds cohesion and security. Gratitude for children builds healthy, well-adjusted kids. If not there, where? Gratitude for business associates and customers builds affluence for all. Appreciation for our family builds loving and lasting connections through thick and thin. Without our friendships, we are islands floating in an abyss.

As we close out the month of November, let us go forward with a grateful heart for all our blessings. If we replace all that we take for granted with gratitude, it will be impossible to feel empty and unfulfilled. If we take account of our Thanksgiving baskets, we can see the abundance and place that fullness in our hearts to share with others. We are blessed and a blessing to others.

Gratitude is the key to happiness. If you focus on the silver lining, you won’t worry about the dark cloud. You merely see it as the possible rain that waters and sustains all life. All relationships have a silver lining. Let us focus on that instead of the clouds and tears. Clouds are only temporary, and they have their part in our growth, too. By embracing all that our relationships encompass, we will be able to fully appreciate our lives, and their perfect design, and with life’s ebbs and flows be able to merrily float gently down the stream.

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