Give back with your friends and family. I've said this before but a lot of what we're trying to accomplish is for ourselves. Being selfish sometimes is great. Honestly, we have to be to achieve a better us. That's perfectly ok because YOU are the most important in your life, and realistically, you come first. But, we're not everything. And the world certainly doesn't revolve around us. There are people in your life who add to you. They are apart of you. We have to take care of them as well. Your family raised you, nurtured you. Your friends symbolize who you are now. They represent who you are when you're not around. You choose your friends, and friends that last longer than 8 years are said to become family. Additionally, it has been said that you are the average of the 5 people you hang out with most. I don't think I have to say, choose wisely.
So we have these people in our lives, that obviously mean a lot to us. We have to take care of them. Well, not sure if you noticed but this week also happens to involve Thanksgiving. Geez wiz, what a perfect opportunity for us to accomplish our weekly challenge. Find a way, any way you deem worthy to take care of your people. Take care of them by serving a large family dinner, inviting them over for games, giving them gifts for nothing in return, make a call for them to help 'em out with a big job coming up, give them positive feedback, and do it gallantly. Because they take care of you, and you have to make sure you yourself, are worthy of them. Have some laughs. Have some great food. Some great wine. Spend quality time with each other and cherish the very moments you are living in. Because right now, nothing else is more important than friends and family.
REFLECTION: After spending the weekend cuddled up by the fire, playing board games, and snow hiking up at an amazing cabin, I was already stuffed with Thanksgiving love and goodness. On a spontaneous trip up to Northern Virginia, I was honored with an invite to a spectacular cabin with 8 others to enjoy a 'Friendsgiving' feast. It was absolutely fantastic, filled with good people, mouth watering food, and fresh new board games. We even had a couple of furry friends who were the best cuddlers. After we got home, we realized, Thanksgiving was still ahead of us. We had to complete our challenge and celebrate Thanksgiving actually on the day. So, this is what we did. Instead of normal thanksgiving goodness, we bought ingredients to bake our own pizza. We had a few friends over, and spent as little time in the kitchen, and more quality time with them. The pizza turned out fantastic thanks to our good buddy Alec, and some brought over Monopoly, Thai food, and wine. We ended up laughing, losing in monopoly (but no friendships were lost), and drunk on some cheap wine. Original in all the right ways. It was awesome. Couldn't have asked for a better day, week, or challenge.
Keep your good friends close, your family closer, and enjoy every moment you're in. I'm still working on the last part, but if you're not working, you're not growing. Happy Thanksgiving week everyone. I really hope you had a great week. I would love to hear all about your experiences.