One day at a family gathering, everyone was sitting in the dining hall but they weren’t chatting and laughing among themselves, they weren’t telling childhood stories, they weren’t pulling each other’s legs, they weren’t enjoying the food cooked by elders, they weren’t appreciative of being together and they weren’t having a feeling of belongingness.
The adults were busy with their professional life works, children were busy having online classes and interacting on social media, and the elders… The elders decided not to do a gathering again.
This story isn’t about a particular family; this story is about every household. Today’s world is greedy for wealth, positions, status and looks. They are greedy at the cost of their relationships.
No one is available to meet their family on weekends, to have a friend’s night on Saturday evenings, to have after office drinks with colleagues. A husband don’t have time to surprise his wife, wife doesn’t have time to appreciate her husband, parents don’t have time to spend with their children, youngsters don’t have enough time for their parents, aged parents are unable to spend time with their children. And this goes on.
Life is a race and everyone is running but they don’t know what they are running after and for. It is believed that enjoying the path is more important. But we are ignoring family, health , relationships just for work even though we know that work can be rejoined and paced later but once family, health and relationships are left behind, they cannot be paced with anything.
Though one has to manage things themselves and give time to everyone and everything on their own, here are some ways in which you can achieve these goals.
Be responsible for what you say
Meeting friends, colleagues, family members, everyone shares a common conversation “Hi” and “How are you doing?”. But do they really mean what they say or ask? Are they willing to stop in between and spend 5 minutes of their precious time in hearing the latter if he responds he’s not okay and not doing well.
Humans are fickle minded, they are their words. It would change a lot of things and improve the relationships if people really stand and listen to each other being honest. A couple of your minutes can increase the sense of belongingness in the other person.
It will increase their respect towards you and they will be available for you in times of need because not every needy time is to help physically, economically and socially. Sometimes all a person needs is someone to listen to them and understand them and ask how they are.
Stay in touch
Actions speak louder than words. One of the drawbacks of most relationships is connectivity. It is easy to make friends but it is difficult to be friends. Same goes with every relationship. They shouldn’t last only with the concerned places, phases and times.
It is understandable that everyone is busy in their lives but no matter how hectic a schedule one has, there’s always time and space for family and friends.
A simple text message from time to time, a phone call to the ones whom you and to you who valued and believed, will keep the kinship alive and strengthen the bond. A small gesture is enough for a bigger confession.
Celebrate holidays with your close ones
Spending quality time with your family is a must and to do thing. It is an essential prerequisite for any relationship. It will help to know more about each other, share happiness and sadness, and find solutions together.
It will convey the importance and meaning of staying together and being a family to children and youngsters. Plan weekends or particular days to stay with your family, have a picnic, go shopping, chit chat with them.
No matter how big your family is, the world is incomplete without friends. The race to win in this life should not affect your kinships. Organizing a party, friend’s night, memorable evenings are all one has to do.
All it takes is proper planning or a slight change in your schedules, and a few hours will add much more strength to your kinships. It will create an unbreakable bond between the friends.
Be respectful and have trust
Every relationship is based on trust, and if there is trust in a relationship, respect will always be there. The concerned person will automatically respect the other person’s decisions because the trust implies the person has his own reasons. Therefore respect and trust go hand in hand.
Trusting your partners, colleagues, friends and family is important because any work or any relationship lacking trust is a superficial or a formality. Trusting means believing in them. Therefore mutual trust is a foundation of any relationship.
If trust is there, respect will always be there. Being present doesn’t mean one shouldn’t pay attention towards it. Respecting the decisions taken by your partners will enhance the mutual understanding between them and also will be healthy for their kinship.
Keep excitement and surprises
Keeping alive the love among the couples is a key towards a healthy relationship. The excitement of the relationship should not be deteriorated within time. The reason for being together, the essence of staying with each other should remain always.
A boring and same life of a relationship leads to many confusions and doubts. This arise the weed of any kinship. And with time unknowingly that relationship becomes a contract. To avoid such heartbreaking thoughts, one can try his best to be active in a relationship.
Going on dates, planning a surprise, giving gifts and spending more time together. Gifts need not to be expensive, presents shouldn’t be given on occasions, and dates shouldn’t be only on Valentine’s Day, birthdays or anniversaries. Each and every day should be celebrated of a relationship.
Life is too short to waste on running over material things. But the same life is too big when lived with friends and family. Life gives you happiness to enjoy with others, sadness to share with others, wealth to help and celebrate with others, poverty to rely on others. These others are none other than our closed ones. Therefore, live life and don’t spend it because there is a difference between the two.
