The other day a friend invited us over for dinner. At first I thought “fun,” but then that stern and pragmatic part of my brain thought “but I can get so much accomplished in 2-3 hours for our business.”
We went.
I am glad we did because it was a time for renewal and bonding and release. We sat, relaxed, talked about heavy things, ate together, laughed, cried, talked about lightweight things, enjoyed being together; sat on the porch drinking tea while the great light sunk low in the western sky.
When we got home we were completely reinvigorated. Building “renewal” times into our hectic and harried schedules is necessary to maintain that lovely mix of productivity and creativity.
In our culture, enforcing our “down” time is a priority for us. On weekday evenings and those weekend sacred spaces, we feel the need to structure that time because it belongs to us, not to someone else. We fill those times with individual activities; we want to stick close to home. If we plan something it has a very strict timetable, not open to interpretation from spontaneity.
When our country looks outside to find paradigms in other cultures that have high longevity rates, we see this concept goes hand-in-hand with healthy, human interaction. We need friends interwoven into our health portraits. If we look at some of the healthiest people on the planet: The Hunza, Mediterranean people, Okinawans, some Chinese sects of peoplethey all have diets infused with good food in moderation, all drink pure water, engage in hard work and ritualistic exercise, but we also notice that they interweave community seamlessly into their lives on a daily basis.
American Society is separate. Other cultures are less individualistic. It doesn’t mean trash your spirit of individuality, it just means build in meaningful friend times of bonding and release. Look at nature for an examplethere are a lot of pair and group activities that go on intermittently through their days.
At least once a week we challenge everyone to work a “friending ritual” into their lives. Here are 5 points to consider
• Share time with friends that empower you.
• Do not plan on “doing” anything.
• Make it simple.
• No worries
• Be Spontaneous
The idea is to simply “be” with your friends. Learn about their stories and share yours. Sit and do nothing, talk, eat, laugh, cry, pray; just “be.” Don’t worry about who brings what for food; everybody bring something or just graze on goodies when you talk. The point is the healthy interaction not the cluttering details.
Building a ‘Friend Ritual” into our health portraits is as important as breathing.
We challenge all of you to enliven your health portraits with a friend component that will push you to greater vitality. Can you see the value in this exercise? What are some things you would add to the friending ritual list? What are some things you have done with friends that has energized you?
Image courtesy of Bill Gracey
The other day a friend invited us over for dinner. At first I thought “fun,” but then that stern and pragmatic part of my brain thought “but I can get so much accomplished in 2-3 hours for our business.”
We went.
I am glad we did because it was a time for renewal and bonding and release. We sat, relaxed, talked about heavy things, ate together, laughed, cried, talked about lightweight things, enjoyed being together; sat on the porch drinking tea while the great light sunk low in the western sky.
When we got home we were completely reinvigorated. Building “renewal” times into our hectic and harried schedules is necessary to maintain that lovely mix of productivity and creativity.
In our culture, enforcing our “down” time is a priority for us. On weekday evenings and those weekend sacred spaces, we feel the need to structure that time because it belongs to us, not to someone else. We fill those times with individual activities; we want to stick close to home. If we plan something it has a very strict timetable, not open to interpretation from spontaneity.
When our country looks outside to find paradigms in other cultures that have high longevity rates, we see this concept goes hand-in-hand with healthy, human interaction. We need friends interwoven into our health portraits. If we look at some of the healthiest people on the planet: The Hunza, Mediterranean people, Okinawans, some Chinese sects of peoplethey all have diets infused with good food in moderation, all drink pure water, engage in hard work and ritualistic exercise, but we also notice that they interweave community seamlessly into their lives on a daily basis.
American Society is separate. Other cultures are less individualistic. It doesn’t mean trash your spirit of individuality, it just means build in meaningful friend times of bonding and release. Look at nature for an examplethere are a lot of pair and group activities that go on intermittently through their days.
At least once a week we challenge everyone to work a “friending ritual” into their lives. Here are 5 points to consider • Share time with friends that empower you.
• Do not plan on “doing” anything.
• Make it simple.
• No worries
• Be Spontaneous
The idea is to simply “be” with your friends. Learn about their stories and share yours. Sit and do nothing, talk, eat, laugh, cry, pray; just “be.” Don’t worry about who brings what for food; everybody bring something or just graze on goodies when you talk. The point is the healthy interaction not the cluttering details.
Building a ‘Friend Ritual” into our health portraits is as important as breathing.
We challenge all of you to enliven your health portraits with a friend component that will push you to greater vitality. Can you see the value in this exercise? What are some things you would add to the friending ritual list? What are some things you have done with friends that has energized you?
Image courtesy of Bill Gracey