Successful Relationships Reading Corner
This week, we wrote about how to turn your relationship into a creative adventure. Although none of the following posts are written solely about creativity, they all discuss it as part of the topic.
Play is How to Add Peace Within Your Relationships “The society we live in is one that pushes achievement and busyness over everything. The U.S. has the shortest amount of paid vacation time from work, and there are many jobs where there is none. People often feel a sense of guilt if they take time out to play, rest, and relax. Yet, it has been proven that play is vital to your health and well-being and your optimum brain function. Many of you are familiar with Julia Cameron’s work in The Artist’s Way series of books. She describes a path toward optimum creativity, which involves something called morning pages, and taking at least a two-hour play date every week. I have known many individuals and groups who have done this program, and in each of the cases, people have shared how difficult it was for them to find the time to do the play date with themselves. Only two hours a week, and people have difficulty finding the time! As with many things, you need to first apply this to yourself before you can take it into your relationships. Finding ways to have leisure time and to reach out for new experiences will open paths to growth and satisfaction. The more you allow this kind of time into your life and your experiences with yourself, the more you will be able to bring that into your relationships.”
What We Have Learned About Peace And Harmony Through Our Relationship “Interacting with this kind of trust and honesty brings an indescribable pleasure with it; the sense of true peace and harmony. It creates an atmosphere of relaxation and calm that allows clarity to respond lovingly without anything being held back or causing distance between us. It opens a quiet space to all the positive advantages in the differences between us without any need to create sameness. The ease of peace brings forth creativity and laughter. It pulls us into the present with each other rather than living in our thoughts and projections about the future. These experiences have provided me with a road map for all my relationships. The more I am at ease and connect with my own inner world, the more natural it becomes to accept others. Peace is something I carry around inside and it allows me the openness to respond with love toward others without unnecessary defensiveness or protections. (unnecessary is a key word here and this is something that must be assessed in every relationship.)”
Make Sure You Pay Attention to Your Relationships “These connections are the riches of your life. Appreciate them, savor them, and when you can, keep them current. As precious as your once-every-so-often relationships are, it is those that you interact with in the present that help you work out the problems of everyday living. It is with those that you share decisions, get advice, complain, rejoice, and grow. Strangely, there is a tendency to stop seeing and appreciating that which becomes familiar. With time, you might even stop feeling and valuing the connection within your relationships. To keep those connections in the present, you have to create shared experiences and take time to just be and to relate to one another. There are many ways to do this. To bring a relationship into your current experience, you must bring it into your present life. That sense of loving connection arises because in every close relationship, there are not two, but rather three entities; each of the individuals and the relationship itself. By paying close attention, you can be aware of this, that it is not you and not the other person, but exists as a fusion of what each of you brings. This is a thing to cherish and to nurture. Be active in feeding your relationships. Connections that are steeped in truth and the sharing of your inner spirit bring with them calm, joy, and strength to meet the challenges of everyday life.”