Beltane and Nurturing your Friendships

If you have been following our Beltane series, you will notice that it has mostly all been about Self Discovery and learning to love the person that you are! I think that this is a process for all people, whether they want to admit it or not. But you don't have to be on this journey alone. Yes, you are on a path to "Self" discovery, but the best part about that is finally sharing yourself, your feelings, your dreams, hopes, ambitions, and everything that makes you that wonderful person that you are with other people. The people that you hold most dear to your heart. Your Friends!

Now that you have a love for yourself, lets talk about the love you have for others. Love, even platonic love, needs feeding.
Anna already touched base on holding on to toxic relationships for far too long, and the effect that it can have. So weeding out those friendships really is the best thing you can do. And hopefully what you are left with is the beginnings of a beautiful garden.

I see my relationships as a sort of garden that I keep nestled away in my heart. If you don't feed and nurture the things in your garden they will begin to whither and eventually die. You need to be sure to take account of who in your life is worth having. Don't take them for granted. Life is too short, and time goes by too quickly. You will just end up wishing that you watered that seed or brought it out into the sunlight. Let your friends know how much they truly mean to you. 

We live in a day and age where technology has taken the place of face-to-face friendships. This is great if you have friends that live out of city, state, or even country; but I think it takes away from the emotional connection that we get from actually being around people. You can't always gauge how a person is feeling via text or email. Many conversations of mine have been misconstrued due to the simple fact that the other person took what I said in a different way than it was meant. You simply can't get the feeling and emotion across when you are behind a screen. And although I want to sit here and preach saying "if you want the relationship to flourish, make the time to get together!", that isn't exactly plausible. 

Life happens. People are more busy than ever now-a-days, which makes it hard to stay in contact. I personally feel as though I don't talk to half of my friends nearly as much as I should. I'm also the type of friend that can go for months without talking, then just pick right back up where we left off. I'm not a needy friend in the slightest. I always try to make sure I listen to what the other person needs, and help them in any way that I can. Sometimes the best thing you can offer is a ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and if need be, someone to take shots with. (Even if it's over the phone.)

There are those of us who are very introspective and tend to keep to ourselves. I think of the Hermit when I think of these friends. They are ridiculously knowledgeable in everything and anything, but lack real solid relationships because they tend to not want to get too close to people. This could be because they don't want to put themselves out there and get rejected, because they lack "people skills", or simply because they think nature will just run its course. This is where they need a swift kick in the butt. You yourself have the power within you to make things happen. This goes for friendship too. If you want a friendship, then go out there and make it happen. Start small, make phone calls and see how they have been if it is an old friend. Go out for coffee. Do something small to show that you care. Even a quick text to say, "Hey, you were on my mind" works wonders.

If you are trying to make new friends, just go up and introduce yourself. Or, if you are like most people and are on Facebook; comment on something to strike up a conversation. You will be surprised at how much you might have in common with other people. I just recently made a friend on Facebook who had commented on one of our posts. We totally hit it off, and now I love seeing everything she posts all the time! Unfortunately she lives in Ohio, so there is a very small chance that we would ever really meet face to face, but its a start.

You have to plant the seeds in order for them to grow! Nothing will happen otherwise.

And then sometimes in life you have those certain people that you meet who, right away, you know are going to make a huge impact on you one way or another. Moving out here to the Carson Valley I had this happen with Anna. From the moment I met her, I knew without a doubt that we would be great friends. And once I decide something, it's gonna happen; So poor Anna didn't stand a chance. LOL.  Like any new relationship it started off slow, talking about our likes and dislikes. And if you are lucky like we were, you have that epiphany moment where you go "What!? You too? I thought I was the only one." And that is where your friendship turns into a lifelong relationship.

So, I try to make sure that I water the garden, I give it the nutrients it needs, let the sun shine brightly on it, so that it can grow and blossom, and then others can see the beauty of it. Let your friendships grow as you grow. Share everything about yourself, and if they are your true friend they will love you regardless of your small imperfections. Love is about seeing all the beauty in the imperfections. Looking at what others disregard, or don't like and deciding "Hey, that's the best part about you!"

So plant your seeds, let your garden grow! Tell the people that you love why you love them! Lift each other up! And weed out the negative. (This is the toughest part) But once you do, your life will be so much happier.

What's funny is I just asked Anna if she would help me out with my actual garden in my "backyard". Working together to make things grow; literally, and metaphorically. Yay!

May your light shine so brightly upon others that they too want to be a beacon unto the world!

Love and Light to you all! )O(

~Luminessa