Connectedness...

I recently signed on to Facebook and like many thing on the internet it is a way to waste some down time when there is nothing else to do. But one of the neatest things about it is the way you can reconnect with people you have lost track of, and while not meeting face to face you can still keep up to date and stay connected. That recently happened with a friend of mine who I found on Facebook. Years ago, this friend and I were fencing partners. We fenced so much we got to the point we could not beat one another in a sparing match. It was a alot of fun and along with the fencing we had a number of common friends and generally had a great time hanging out with everyone. And as life will have it, he moved on, moved out of the area and kind of disappeared off of my radar screen for a number of years. Well, we found each other again via Facebook and while reading his info I found that he has become a therapist and he put a little bit of his philosophy into his bio. Here it is:

Inspired by a day spent with Patch Adams at the 2005 Evolution of Psychotherapy conference in Anaheim, I have come to the conclusion that mental health boils down to connectedness: the health and strength of our relationship, not just with others -- but our internal selves as well.

I could not agree with him more. Having good, solid relationships with family, spouses, friends, and like he says, our internal selves, is absolutely key in finding happiness and stability. Both outwardly and inwardly. I have been lucky enough, blessed if you will, to have an enourmous amount of friends. And I am also lucky to say that I have a large number of close friends and my close relationship with my family is something that many would say is out of the ordinary. I try hard to cultivate these relationships and with it, I think it helps me as a person who feels good about himself. I can only hope that the reverse is true for my family and friends.

To have friends, you must be a friend. To be a friend to someone, you have to like and be comfortable with youself.

Thanks to my family and friends for keeping me happy and healthy!