With the new year approaching, it’s normal to reflect on life, especially our relationships with family and friends.
During the past few weeks, I’ve been reading “Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
It’s a reflection on life and relationships. Even though it was written in 1955, the author’s observations are still pertinent in today’s world.
The following excerpt is profound and very true in today’s social media world – a world where we compare our life and relationships with others.
When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility.
It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand.
We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb.
We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity – in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.
The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now.
For relationships too must be like islands. One must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits – islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, continually visited and abandoned by the tides.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea
As we move into the new year, make a commitment to spend more time with those who matter the most to you. Set aside social media and be present in your relationships – reminiscing about the past but embracing where the relationship is now.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Niv Persaud, CFP®, CDFA™, RICP®, CRPC®, is the Founder of Transition Planning & Guidance, LLC. Life is more than money. It’s about living the lifestyle you want and can afford. For that reason, Niv consults with clients on money, life, and work. Her approach capitalizes on techniques she learned throughout her career, including as a management consultant, executive recruiter, and financial advisor. Her services include developing spending plans, comprehensive financial plans, divorce financial reviews, retirement plans. Niv actively gives back to her community through her volunteer efforts. She believes in living life to the fullest by cherishing friendships, enjoying the beauty of nature and laughing often — even at herself. Her favorite quote is by Erma Bombeck, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say ‘I used everything you gave me.’”
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