Chapter 2: Omnipotent Friends, Family and Support
Life does not guarantee that everyone will automatically recognize your beauty and value in the same way that you value yourself. Learning to recognize the people that value you and resonate with those that incite your growth and benevolence will help you to better create the future you hope to attain. If you show me the company that a person keeps, I will show you a piece of his future. Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest, who you have the most in common with, or even who makes you feel best, it’s about who came and was there for you through thick and thin. On a fundamental level we are all seeking a kind of reconnection to the realization that all life is one. We are not the same mentally, though we all hold the same spirit energy within us. Each of us is a different piece of an evolutionary puzzle.
To find and create your niche in life, you must travel past the ego and meet others halfway on the bridge of love. We talked about self-confidence in the previous chapter and its effect on our serenity as spiritual beings. This same level of confidence must also be present in dealing with other people. We must come to the point to where we can accept that other people are exactly who they are supposed to be at that moment, and we can’t change that. Upon embracing this, we can let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not twist them to fit our own image. This allows us to see them clearly and not love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. (Duality will be discussed in a later chapter.)
“We spend the rest of our lives trying to recreate those moments when laughter amongst good friends or family made us feel infinite.” – Charles William Flaum IV
There is an old saying that goes “You can’t choose your blood, but you can choose your family.” Family are people who will provide you with respect, devotion and wanting the best for you, even when you don’t ask for or feel that you deserve any of that. They are the level of individual that is so genuine in nature and direct honesty that it appears that they know us better than we know ourselves. The feeling of family can ignite passionate feelings deep within your soul, knowing that these compassionate people help make life worth living. When everything seems hopeless and you have ceased to believe in yourself, family will be there to believe in you and re-ignite the fire within you.
MANTRAS
I honor the place in you where the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you that is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.
I am blessed, fortunate and thankful to have the unconditional love and support of my family, friends, and supporters.
I embrace and cherish the unity in connecting with a friend.
I will use wisdom to find my true friends and experience to show my true family.
I will stay connected to my friends and family and know that I never have to feel alone again.
QUOTES TO LIVE BY
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.” – Anonymous
“An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship.” – Spanish proverb
“Be nice to your siblings; they’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future…”- Baz Luhrmann
“Dogs don’t care if you’re rich or poor, give them your heart and they’ll give you theirs.” – John Grogan
“Effective leaders overcome their weaknesses by combining forces with others whose strengths compensate for those weaknesses, thereby creating a more complete and powerful mix of gifts and abilities.” – George Barna
“In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.” – Anonymous
“In life God doesn’t always give you the people you want, instead you are given the people you need. To teach you, to hurt you, to love you, and make you exactly the way you should be.” – Unknown
“The only people you need in your life are the ones that prove they need you in theirs.
Learn to value the people that value you.” – Bill Withers
“What most of the men soon came to understand themselves, was that all they had was each other. If they were going to pull out of such desperate straits, their only hope was to pull together.” – George Barna
“In the end we are all separate: our stories, no matter how similar, come to a fork and diverge. We are drawn to each other because of our similarities, but it is our differences we must learn to respect.” – Johnny Mercer
“Nothing is ‘impossible’ when it comes to love, so if it’s not possible, it’s not love!” – Anonymous
“True friendship is sitting together in silence and feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.” – Anonymous
“Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say.” – Anonymous
“So, when the world attacks and you slide off track, remember one fact: I got your back.” – Will Smith
“Every person that I have ever met in my life or have had some type of interaction with, no matter how slight, contributes to the person I am today. I am a beautiful mosaic of different hopes, yearnings, and dreams.” – Unknown
“True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.” – George Washington
It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
Acknowledgement is the best form of inspiration.
I refuse to let my happiness make other people sad. Therefore, my true friends know who they are, and I will always remember them.
“Maybe some people aren’t meant to be tamed; maybe we’re supposed to find people equally as wild to run with.” – Sex and the City
In life we’re given people to love and things to use, not things to love and people to use.
“Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it’s broke… but, you can still see the crack in that motherfucker’s reflection.” – Stefani Germanotta
Secure people love and support each other, anything else does not fit.
Decide this minute to never again beg anyone for the love, respect and attention that you should be showing yourself.
I don’t need to know you to know your energy.
I don’t like forced conversations, forced friendships, forced interactions. I simply do not force things. If we do not vibe, we don’t vibe.
“There will be times in your life when you have to choose between being loved and being respected. Always pick being respected, because love without respect is always fleeting, but that respect could grow into real, lasting love.” – Unknown
“I trust you” is a better compliment than “I love you” because you may not always trust the person you love but you can always love the person you trust.
“People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.” – Anonymous
Blessed are they who admire without jealousy, praise without flattery, follow without imitation, and lead without manipulation.
“Enlightenment continuously combines and connects spiritual beings into absolute oneness.” – Anonymous
A real best friend makes your family question your sexuality.
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by meeting that a new world is born.” -Anais Nin
“There are times when we are timid and shy about expressing the love we feel. For fear of embarrassing the other person, or ourselves, we hesitate to say the actual words “I love you.” So, we try to communicate the idea in other words. We say, “take care” or “don’t drive too fast” or “be good.” Yet really, these are just other ways of saying “I love you,” “You are important to me,” “I care what happens to you,” and “I don’t want you to get hurt.” They all mean “I love you.” We are sometimes very strange people. The only thing we want to say, and the one thing we should say, is the one thing we don’t say. P.S. I love you.” – Unknown
“Sometimes you meet someone, and it’s so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, whether you understand one another or you’re in love or you’re partners in crime. You meet these people throughout your life, out of nowhere, under the strangest circumstances, and they help you feel alive. I don’t know if that makes me believe in coincidence, or fate, or sheer blind luck, but it definitely makes me believe in something.” – Anonymous
The best feeling in the world is knowing that you mean something to someone.
Isn’t it ironic how the people that hurt you the most are the ones that swore they never would? One of the stupidest mistakes in life is thinking that the person who hurt you won’t hurt you again. Family isn’t always blood. It’s those people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile & who love you no matter what. Blood makes you related; Loyalty makes you family.
“Unpopular Opinion: I hate when people say, “he’s still your dad,” or she’s still your aunt…” Just because someone is your family doesn’t mean you have to keep them in your life if they’re toxic and abusive. Blood means nothing sometimes. Don’t let people guilt you into being [abused].” – Layonna Roby
Isn’t it ironic how people say they miss you, but don’t even make an effort to see you? If someone won’t lift a finger to call you, see you and spend time with you, it’s time for you to lift five fingers and wave goodbye. No reason to stay is a good reason to go. A person’s actions will tell you all you need to know. True friends are always there when you need them. False friends are only there when they need you. You find out who your real friends are when all you have left to offer is friendship.
You can meet somebody tomorrow who has better intentions for you than someone you’ve known forever. Time means nothing, character does.
Some people aren’t satisfied until they sabotage someone else’s happiness. Be careful who you open up to, only a few people actually care, the rest are just curious and want to have something to gossip about. Be careful who you trust, not everyone who smiles at you is your friend.
“Even if we never talk again after this day, please remember that I am forever changed by who you are and what you meant to me.” – Anonymous