Comments on: The Circle of Life

By: Pam

Pam — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:25:12 +0000

Wonderful article. Though I have a large circle of friends and my line of work keeps me surrounded by others, I still feel unhappy from time to time… so I am in the process of making positive changes for the new year.

I love everything I have… and have everything I love! I believe we all do, only we forget to remind ourselves of it. My New Year plans are to remind myself daily of all I have to be grateful for and spend more time focusing on that and less time trying to figure out why I am not happy.

By: Happiness and Health Research In: Nurture Friendship! « wild resiliency blog!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:11:17 +0000

[...] The Circle of Life November 28th, 2008 by Lynne McTaggart [...]

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:13:42 +0000

As a nurse working in Perth, Western Australia I find the results of the survey in Finland fascinating but not surprising. A doctor at work asked me recently what I thought the the secret to a long and happy life was. Without really thinking I replied close family and friends. I have today just realised how true that answer is. I have been blessed with a friendly and positive nature and I realise that this is not so for everybody. I do believe we create our own lives by the way we think so if you are having trouble connecting with people try to see things in a different way, it may change your life.

By: Kara

Kara — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:45:26 +0000

I would like to join a tribe of 10

By: Barbara

Barbara — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:55:47 +0000

This is a wonderful conversation! So many thoughtful observations…and so poignantly expressed. Human beings are wired to be sociable. We need a community around us, whether we’re living in a large city or in a remote rural area.

I live in a big city noted for its neighbourhoods. My micro-neighbourhood is an enclave of new townhomes in the centre of the city. When I first moved in, every time I ran into someone new on the street, I took a chance and said hello (not always easy in the city as you might imagine). It turned out that most of the people who live on my street wanted to connect, with the result that we have organized a couple of street parties.

Overcoming our suspicion that others may want to harm us can be difficult, especially when media bombards us with messages of fear. The trouble is, we miss so many opportunities to create community as a result. Intuition can be your best friend in such circumstances.

I have evolved a philosophy over time about friendship. If I want to connect with friends, very often I have to make the first move. People are so busy they often put off calling or making plans and then it simply becomes embarrassing so they stop. Holding onto friends takes effort in our mobile world. Fortunately we have internet!

By: Eve (Yvonne)

Eve (Yvonne) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:34:39 +0000

Hi Folks,

Not much to add that has not already been said.

Human beings are social creatures. We thrive best in supportive family units. I think the word supportive is very important here, because once we leave our family unit, we find ourselves pretty much alone in the world.

How many people live in the same town they were born in? How many people live close to their family?

I live in France where family is everything. There is a traditional two hour lunch break, where families can come together to eat. How many countries in the West still allow two hour lunch breaks? – I would guess not many. Not only do they embrace the family mid-day meal but every part of family life is considered sacred for most.

In this part of France wages are low, so people often belong to a co-operative, where they share their goods.

My neighbor for instance grows potatoes which she shares with others. Also the local dairy farmer uses her large garden to graze his cows once in a while, this saves her from having her grass mowed. In all sorts of way people come together here to share, sometimes out of necessity and others, because that’s the way things are done and have always been done.

At the other end of the scale, I am British and feel isolated at times due language and a culture which is hard to join. Not that they are unfriendly but we are different. My daughter lives in UK and is often too busy to visit. She, like most people, is just holding on to her well-paying I.T. job, due to the downturn of the global markets.

10 friends – hmmmm. I probably have 10 friends but they are all over the planet.

best wishes

yvonne

By: cheryl oldham

cheryl oldham — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:45:49 +0000

I also would be interested in joining a tribe of ten.

By: kathryn barber

kathryn barber — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:26:34 +0000

Thanks Lynne – what a great reminder. i was talking with an old friend yesterday with whom i’d lost touch – we hadn’t spoken in almost 5 years. BUT the flow between us was incredible! it was as if we’d just spoken the day before!…both of us had ‘evolved’ in the same direction with similar observations, concerns, interests and awarenesses on the expanding landscape of conscious connection and heart based action. Ideas about more conscious choices, family and global vision within a local context. A beautiful confirmation and validation that everyone we’ve touched and touch is part of our extended family of ‘expanded self’ and that we are truly one – moving and evolving together regardless of time or proximity.

Warmly
Kathryn

By: Jo P

Jo P — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:24:31 +0000

All the comments were connected and now I wrestle with my feelings about community. I have always felt that loneliness was what made me different from others. Now I know it’s universal and all I need to do is trust and know that we are all connected, after all it’s just a feeling… a need for something outside of self, meaning the ego side. When I feel spirited, there is no loneliness. I am grateful for what I have become, “A spiritual being having a human experience.” ~Namaste. Jo

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:18:06 +0000

Wonderful stories !! I had to think a bit to come up with 8 friends whom I can cofide in and really be myself with , but I would rather have those 8 then a bunch of people that I couldn’t be ‘myself” with .. this has been a life long adventure in acepting myself as I am !!
this Thanksgiving I had a wonderful adventure — I was in vited to my sons home with the warning that my x husband was going to be there with his son and family — this man is just going though a nasty divorce — and the reason we split was I no longer wanted to live with a very active drinker.. I was told he had stoped drinking do to health reasons etc; so I went — and on the drive there I reminded myself that I am LOVE — Love flows thought me and that is my center !! It was a wonderful day !! my x kept wanting to visit with me — he was the one that devorced me because of my “weird ways of looking into self help books ” meany years it took me to find my balance because Family was soooo important to me and the feeling of lost and alone was very great ,, all my kids were raised and off on their own , when the devorce happened — But at this Thanksgiving my step son and I visited alot and lots of hugs and re bonding ocured !! he hadn’t spoke to me in 17 years !! The feeling of Family happiness was very full and I came away Very Happy of my new life and my own center of well being !! and the smiles on my own sons face seeng us all gettng along was wonderful !! he always hubg onto his step dad because it was the only dad he ever knew —
But the main reason I am sharing this is the feeling of family whole ness was so wonderful and blessed !! A dream of a life time to be sure !