Today’s Friendships: Grace, Understanding, and Flexibility

Lynn Morgan Carpenter: We are here on the third week of the theme for this month, which is relationships. And we're devoting this week to friendships. And I'm really excited cuz I'm actually, I'm gonna be really personal, and very honest with you. This has been a topic that I've done some research on and listened to different, um, podcasts and read different articles because I've been a little perplexed, I've been a bit confused about the energy and synergy in the state of friendships because I have witnessed that over the last few years of what we've encountered, that there has been a large shift in a lot of our friendships. And if I'm experiencing this, I know that you are and that's why I'm really excited to bring it to the forefront because I feel like this is a really important conversation. 

One of the reasons why it's so important is because our friendships are important.

Our friendships are vital in our experience of life. You know, our friendships are are there often through the different stages of life and they can be a shoulder to cry on and a buddy to laugh with and have joy with and, um, can be that cornerstone of a person as you're navigating through your personal life. So these are important relationships to be understood, to be nurtured, and to be honored. And I first wanna start to talk about that. Um, when we went through quarantine, there was this phenomenon called bubbles. So we formed bubbles. And what I am seeing and what my perspective is after having a good amount of time of really giving this some conscientious thought and with talking with other people, is that there are people that are still stuck in a bubble or halfway stuck in a bubble. So this is where that understanding comes in, that if you have a friendship that once you are much more connected and now you're not, um, potentially they're still in a bubble of some sort and they may not even realize it.

Number two is that there is this thing called the social battery. And what took place for a lot of people is that when we withdrew socially, our energy, our social energy shifted, and then when we're back at a state where we can be more out and social, it's taking a little bit for a person, um, to be able to charge their battery, to be at the state that feels most comfortable for them. And there's a lot of people that are assessing this and reassessing and saying, you know, at one time I used to go to every invitation and engagement I was invited to and now I'm a little more discerning of, of which I give my energy to. So that was a natural shift that took place. So just know that, um, everybody is also adjusting their social battery. 

Um, I'm saying all of this because the overall theme that I really want to drive home and the point I wanna drive home in today's video is that friendships today, um, they require understanding. Um, they require things that is really meant for us to not take personal and they require a lot of flexibility. The other thing is, is just to understand that collectively we are all doing the best that we can. And how a person showed up at one time, if that looks very different right now, for the most part, they are literally doing the best that they can at this moment in time to get back to whatever is considered to be, um, a functioning state for them when it comes to their relatability with the people in their lives, including their friendships. So it's a lot of nurturing, a lot of honoring, a lot of understanding and flexibility.

And the big thing is, is not taking it personal. And it can be hard. It can be hard because especially if somebody that you were very much connected to and then you notice you don't have the same level of connection, or maybe you're witnessing and feeling like, you know, they seem to have spend more of their time with this other friend. And I used to kind of be that friend and what's going on there? Of course that hurts. Of course, it does. But I also like to take this as an opportunity to look at things from a higher perspective. So whenever I can rise up and look at something from a higher perspective, and I, I like, you know, more on a spiritual side of this is that looking at that friendship, knowing that there are two souls there that are connecting and for whatever reason, obviously the two souls are matching there and that they need something from each other.

And I'm going to honor that and I'm going to do everything I can to not take it personal. And because I have love for these people, I'm going to allow that soul energy to do whatever it needs to do the healing, um, you know, whatever is needed in that moment. And I don't wanna interrupt that and get in the way of that and I don't want my energy of disappointment to interrupt it either. So this is higher thinking. It takes a lot of that internal work to be able to get to that place. 

And then just know that, um, anytime that we maybe are feeling a struggle with a friendship, it absolutely is an opportunity to do a check-in, to ask what it is it that I can learn from this. It's also a great opportunity to check in and say, Hey, let me do a reevaluation. What type of friend do I want to be? What type of friend do I think that I am? And do I have rooms for improvement? And if so, how would I like that to be? What's my first step in improving? You know, I feel like my social battery actually is getting a little revved up. I have a little more energy now. So how can I maybe step into that circle of nurturing my friendships with people that are important to me? How can I do that a little more intentionally? 

And then this is how we can start inching back and coming back into each other's lives. But then also realizing that if a relationship isn't quite coming together as it once did, just don't take it personal and look at the opportunity that there's other friendships coming. There's other friendships coming your way. And it's an opportunity to say, I have this time and space. Who are the new people that I can form friendships with, who are gonna be somebody that I can learn from and connect with and laugh and have fun and, and seek joy with? So yes, this week we're going all into friendships.

I love this topic, I love my friendships and it's been a very interesting thing for me to witness, for me to hear from other people and to really sort through personally. And so I wanna be able to help you to do the same. If you can relate to anything that I shared here on this video, can you please leave a comment? I wanna hear from you, I wanna know what you're experiencing, leave a comment, send me a direct message. How are your friendships going? What have you been noticing? And um, do you have any questions? I'm here to help you.