For this first article of the year, I would like to focus on the topic concerning friendship and start by asking you these two questions:

• How much time do you dedicate to your friends ? By ‚friends‘ I mean all the people you love, appreciate and enjoy to spend time with.
• And are you satisfied with the time spend together?

Time spent with friends is actually an investment. I know, this word – investment – used in the context of relationship bothers me too . But it gives the sense that you can multiply your energy by putting it to work 🙂
The investment isn’t just in the relationship with another person who potentially, maybe, could offer material benefits and emotional support in the future.
It is also an investment in the relationship with yourself : by taking time to be with someone else, you give yourself the opportunity to get more in contact with your own state, through conversations, activities, exchanges of ideas or simply by being asked « how are you doing ? »

This ability to stay in touch with others and to get nourished by the connection depends on a balance: in one hand the pleasure and enrichment of the relationship; in the other hand the potential frictions that you may experience, the frustrations of being too far or too close, the organisational effort that the relationship requires.
Sometimes, to allow ourselves to feel what we experience with people we love and appreciate can be difficult, and we may tend to avoid confronting this sensations.

Taking the time to ask yourselves the two questions mentioned above is very important for taking care of this balance, and with it of your state, especially when our intention is to have good friends and to be a good friend to others.
If you notice that the balance in your friendships is a bit disturbed, you can continue to reflect and feel through these others questions:

• How much time can I devote to friendship and I am satisfied with it?
• Am I focusing too much on certain people and neglecting others?
• What activities do I enjoy or would like to share with my friends?
• What changes could I make to create a different dynamic and more energy when meeting my friends?

As always, I’ll be happy to support you in this work of connecting more with your feelings and experiences!