July 8: My thought for the day - Friends

Well, I've a really good day. I spent this morning with my niece & nephews. We watched a movie, played, and ate lunch together.

My thought for day is: Why do we let our "friends" run over us?

I'm sure at some point we have all had that friend that calls constantly, is always coming by, or gets offended if you choose to spend time with ANYONE else. We tend to let them do it, we invite them along on our outings, we let them stay whenever they come by, we never imply that it may be a bad time to talk. Why is this? I think the answer is two-fold. I think that we are taught to see blunt honesty as rudeness and therefore will never tell them what we really think. Also, I think that part of our nature likes all the attention and fears we will lose their admiration & friendship if we don't allow this behavior. It is important to have friends and to make time for those friends, but it's important to do the same for all of your friends. It is important that you not let one friend impose him/herself onto your schedule in such a way that you are forced to neglect everything and everyone else. That is disrespectful to you, your family and to your other friends. If they are not willing to compromise and work within some boundaries, maybe they are not a real friend. We talk about seeing respect and consideration as part of friendship, if this true, why do we not expect this from the people we call friends. If someone is truly your friend, they should understand that sometimes your life may require you to not have endless amounts of time to give them. If you explain that while you enjoy their company, you may feel at times like spending time without them. And who knows, it might encourage them to branch and broaden their circle of friends and activities. So, never be afraid to ask your friends to respect your time, family or your life.

Well, just food for thought. Hope you all have a great day! Be good & Be Real!

~Rebekah~