Friends for a Season

People are in our lives for different reasons. Some people are only in our lives for a season. It's natural for us to want to hold on to people, long after the relationship has proven to be dead. Some people remind us of fun times - childhood, college, being young and carefree. It is the nostalgia that makes us want to keep them around. It is healthy to let go of people who add toxic elements to our lives. It's like pruning a tree to get rid of the dead branches. Trimming the tree stimulates growth. And sometimes we have to cut certain people out of our lives for the sake of our own personal growth.

Through social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace I have "connected" with some long, lost friends. I was excited to be back in in touch with a few people I thought were missing from my life. Some of these reunions have proven to be worthwhile. For example, Tiffany and I attended high school together. We had a lot in common and participated in some of the same extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hang out much in school because she was shy and I was in somewhat of a clique. Today, as mature self-assured women, we have become friends and now enjoy a flourishing friendship. And as for my high school "clique", I am no longer friends with any of them. I have also reunited with Anika, a creative soul, who inspires me and helps me to reach deep into myself to find untapped creativity. Most of my other cyber reunions have not been as successful. Instead, they have forced me to recall why I fell out of touch with certain people. But I have discovered that it is ok to let go of people in order to grow.

I am in a happy place in my life with a wonderful supportive family, a beautiful daughter, a great circle of friends that is expanding. I don't need to reach back to resurrect old memories. Instead, I will cherish the the memories of simpler times.

Books for the Brain

I remember the days when I would fall asleep reading a good book. The days when I would become so engulfed in a book that I would lose all sense of space and time. For all of my childhood and most of my adult life, I could devour a good Toni Morison book in one day. Most recently, the internet (mainly my beloved Facebook) has taken the place of one of my most cherished pasttimes. And slowly, I am feeling my brain turn into mush. :-(


For the sake of my mental health and mental stimulation, I vow to read more and spend less time on the internet. There's not much that can replace the pages of a good book. For me, books have always been a mental vacation. They have taken me to far away places and helped me to learn and grow beyond the influences of my immediate surroundings. So my current step towards being the best person that I can be mentally is to spend less of my free time in cyberspace and more time curled up with a good book.