Broad Family

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"We define our family, our 'ohana, very broadly. It may have begun with our parents and brothers and sisters, but it now includes hundreds of people who give us the support necessary for our creative endeavors."... Robert Cazimero

The role friends play in our lives is sacred in my estimation, due partly to the fact that they are hand picked and soul close in a way that most family member never get a chance to experience. Sometimes if a person is especially blessed they can combine the two, but for most of us friends hold a very honored position. Both are honorable positions, but one is thrust upon us, while the other is chosen according to our needs and temperament.

Family is at its base a hereditary issue; we have who we have because of the choices made by our ancestors. Who your father proposes to becomes your mother, who you mother accepts becomes your father. Who your uncle marries becomes your aunt and etc, etc, etc. Friends do not enter our lives by default, they are picked because they add something positive to the equation.

Some we adopt right into our family... other's seem to be ours alone. When we need unconditional love at its finest, it's most often a special kind of friend that we seek for the comfort without the need to hide any flaw or fact that may cause issues within a family. I can say truthfully that there are three women who know all there is to know about me and love me without reservation... and none of them are related to me in any fashion. But they are certainly family all the same. To cut down on the chance of kidnapping and blackmail, I will not release their names here. They know who they are and what they mean to me... that is enough.

What we start out with in life is just a base for building upon. Who we people our family with and why is an agenda totally personal with each of us. I love my family, both the ones forced upon me and the ones I hand picked. Some wander in and out of my life and like magic the conversations usually pretty much begin right where they left off when we last parted. They stand the test of both time and distance, these forever-friends of mine. Now seems a good time to say thank you for the many blessings I have received over the years from family and friends and the delight of soul I experience at every gentle touch from each of you. Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!