Celebrating Earth Day and your relationships
Today is Earth Day and there are activities worldwide that have been organized to bring awareness to our mother earth. We went to a garden center and bought several flowering bushes to be planted around the perimeter of our yard. We also set up an area for composting. Our daughter, her husband and our grandsons are going to participate in cleaning up a ravine in our town. The point is that this is a time for focusing on what what we can all do to add to the "greening" of where we live and start new habits that can help save our planet.
So what's all of this have to do with relationships?
Plenty.
When we do things to help make our area more green and a healthier environment for us to live, we can also make our world better by focusing on how we can communicate better with each other and how we can love more.
Here are some ways for you to practice communicating and loving more--whether it's Earth Day or not...
1. Love the differences.
Look at how the people in your life are different from you in a new way. Look at them as if they are gifts to you to help you expand in new ways.
2. Kill the monster while it's little.
Tackle the difficult issues when they are small and not when they are so large that you can't untangle them without separating the two of you.
3. Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want.
Look at what you want rather than what irritates you and separates you from those you love. When you find yourself dwelling on those things that separte you, switch your thoughts to what you want.
4. Understand.
Listen to understand the other person, even if you think that you know that person's motivations and even what he or she might say. Listen to with curiosity to find out why this person said and did what they did.
5. Stay in the present.
Don't drift into past relationships or past problems or past moments. Stay in what's going on right here, right now.
Stay tuned for more great communication tips.
