"The Art of Friendship" Weekly Wisdom

I’ve been thinking lately about the art of making friends.

As we move through life, I’ve come to believe that we need different layers of friendship. There are the friends who are at the very center of our lives—the ones we call when something wonderful happens or when life feels hard. There are friends connected to a particular season, place, hobby, or chapter. And then there are the friends we may not see often at all, but somehow, when we are together, we pick up right where we left off.

I think all of those friendships matter.

Different people bring out different parts of us. One friend challenges us to grow. Another makes us laugh. Someone encourages us to be adventurous, while someone else gives us permission to simply be ourselves. We don't need one person to fulfill every role. In fact, I think we are healthier and happier when we have a tapestry of friendships woven throughout our lives.

And being a good friend is just as important as finding good friends.

Listen. Be curious. Celebrate someone's joy without comparing it to your own. Show up when you can. Give grace when life gets busy. And sometimes, simply remind someone, I'm here.

Because life will get busy. We will move, change jobs, fall in love, raise families, travel, and go through seasons when we don't see the people we love nearly as much as we'd like.

But true friendship doesn't always require constant contact.

Some friendships can sit quietly for a while and still be there when you return to them.

Maybe that's one of the greatest gifts of friendship—the freedom to grow and change as individuals while knowing that the connection remains.

So make the new friend. Reach out to the old one. Say yes to the coffee, the walk, the trip, the invitation.

Collect people who make you laugh, think, explore, feel safe, and become a little more of who you are.

Because perhaps the art of friendship isn't about finding people who will always be beside you.

It's about finding people who, wherever life takes you, will always be your people.

#EmbraceTheHellYeah | #Inputs

~AE

 

"Creating Sincerity" Weekly Wisdom

 

When we meet someone new, what’s one of the first things we ask?

“So, what do you do?”

It’s almost automatic.

And I get it. It’s an easy way to start a conversation. But lately I’ve been thinking…what if we changed the question?

Because what someone does is only one small part of who they are.

What if instead we asked:

“What’s been the best part of your day?”

Or…

“What are you looking forward to?”

“What’s something you’ve been really into lately?”

“What made you laugh this week?”

“If you had an entire day with nothing you had to do, how would you spend it?”

Now those answers tell us something.

Maybe someone tells you about their kid. Or the trip they're planning. The book they can't put down. A new hobby. A dream they've been thinking about. Something that made them laugh.

Suddenly, you're not talking about their job.

You're talking about them.

And maybe that's what we're missing.

We spend so much time introducing ourselves through our titles, accomplishments, roles and responsibilities that we forget there's a whole person underneath all of that.

So the next time you meet someone new, skip the résumé question.

Get curious.

Ask something that gives them a chance to tell you a little more.

Because maybe the best conversations aren't the ones where we figure out what someone does.

Maybe they're the ones where we discover who someone is.

And who knows?

You might just leave the conversation knowing a little more about them—and feeling a little more connected yourself.

So…what's been the best part of your day?

#Inputs | #EmbraceTheHellYeah

AE

"Your Life is Now" Weekly Wisdom

I had the complete joy this past month to attend a concert of one of my favorite artists, John Mellencamp. Strong nostalgia from my junior high and high school days of his music. Dancing and singing along in my midwestern small town, his songs were my jam. In preparation, I had to listen to all my favorites prior to the concert and damn, he has so many hits! What a great artist and I got to see him live. During the concert, he talked a little about and played a song that brought on a whole new meaning to me and really got me thinking after the show. 

Your life is now. 

My life is now. 

I know I am getting very cognizant of what is happening in every moment of my life as I am in this 5th decade. Everything seems a little more clear, a little more sensitive, a little more urgent. No matter what we are doing, the now is where it is at. I use to be a dreamer and think about the future all the time, but I am choosing to live there anymore. There is a lot WE, there is a lot I could do right now - for ourselves and for others.  We need to get excited about the present a little more because it truly is all we have. 

"Your life is now, your life is now, your life is now
In this undiscovered moment
Lift your head up above the crowd
We could shake this world
If you would only show us how
Your life is now"

Songwriters: John Mellencamp / George Michael Green

#EmbraceTheHellYeah | #Inputs

AE