The Power of Friendship

People survive and thrive through our social connections, and our relationships and friendships can bring us a lot of happiness! We are healthier, more resilient, and happier when we are able to surround ourselves with people that we love–friends, family, romantic partners–and stay connected to this smaller community of hearts within the larger community. Yet it does take effort to cultivate relationships, and to connect with people. Let’s take some time this month to do that work deliberately, and to celebrate all of the benefits that our connections can bring! This challenge offers a chance to build resilience through strengthening our social connections.

Habit:
Get together face-to-face (with someone you don’t usually see daily)
Hug a friend or family member
Connect with someone you care about! (Write, visit, email, text with or call someone)

To Do:
Send a card to a friend or family member
(optional) Reconnect with an old friend

(optional) Get to know a new friend better
Share your experience in the Living Vividly Guild!

Reflection:

Perhaps I’m not alone in still being in a place where I’m rebuilding my social connections after the enforced isolation of the pandemic. In July, I took the opportunity to meet our new neighbors, send a heartfelt birthday card to my sister, and visit with a dear friend who lives across town. Stories shared to the guild suggested that as always, this challenge was really valuable for people! Connecting is such a basic human need, yet it’s so easy to forget that we need to put some intentional effort in to keep those connections strong in a context where our whole social world is bigger and spread more widely than a nomadic group or little village of 150 souls we see our whole lives.