Family love them or leave them

Ah, family. The people who raise us, change us, support us — and ultimately, continue to confound us. Most of us would probably attest that our families can be a lot sometimes.

Whether they entail dealing with overbearing parents, unfiltered aunts and uncles, rowdy grandchildren, or moody teenagers, family gatherings can be a little stressful at times. Maybe we have family members who refuse to talk to each other, or there are certain topics guaranteed to trigger explosive arguments at the dinner table. Whatever the case may be, sometimes the only thing we can really do is laugh — to find humour in the inanity of our relatives’ comments and behaviour and choose to see the lighter side of things for our own sanity’s sake. Here are some quotes that speak to the meaning of family gatherings.

"Family: Where life begins and love never ends. Also, where the drama never takes a day off."

"A family is like a team. Irritating one another is just part of the game plan."

"In my family, we don't hide crazy; we put it on the porch and give it a cocktail."

"Home is where you can say anything you like because nobody listens to you anyway."

"Family: Like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one."

"I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage."

"A family that laughs together stays together, or at least tolerates each other at Thanksgiving."

"Family gatherings: Where cousins become best friends and aunts and uncles become therapists."

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces, but sometimes even masterpieces need a touch-up."

"You can't choose your family, but you can definitely choose to laugh at their ridiculousness."

"Remember, as far as everyone knows, we are a nice, normal family."

"Family: Where life is messy, but the love is real."

"The family is not just an important thing; it's everything. Especially when you need someone to blame."

"I smile because you're my family. I laugh because there's nothing you can do about it."

"Family dinners are like a mini-reunion of a dysfunctional cast, with every member playing their unique role in the madness."

Meaningful Gifts

On this Thanksgiving, as I was thinking of family I thought about the  five gifts of love that we can give to our friends and families that can make a huge difference in their lives.

THE GIFT OF CARING AND COMPASSION

We all yearn to feel cared for, yet many of us withhold caring and compassion for others. A profound gift we can give to our loved ones is to listen with our heart, to understand and accept rather than to judge, and to stay open to learning rather than to protect against being hurt.

Think about the last time someone actually listened to you and gave you understanding and acceptance. The feeling of being understood and accepted with caring and compassion is one of the best feelings in the world. Instead of focusing on getting this from others, why not focus on giving it to others? You might be surprised at how wonderful you feel in giving this gift to your family.

THE GIFT OF COURAGE

One of the best gifts we can give our loved ones is our own courage. This means being having the courage to stand in our truth, to be honest about what we want and don’t want, what we will do and won’t do, what is and what is not acceptable to us. It means having the courage to take good care of ourselves, even if others don’t like it. It means not succumbing to our controlling behaviors that come from fear: anger, withdrawal, compliance, resistance, but instead being honest and above-board about ourselves. It means being willing to face conflict rather than give ourselves up to avoid it.

When we have the courage to face conflict and tell the truth, we not only provide our family with a role model for courage, but we provide opportunities for our loved ones to step up to the plate in the face of our truth and learn to be courageous too.

THE GIFT OF SERVICE

We are on this planet to learn to love ourselves and each other, and to help each other. One of the best gifts we can give our family is to role model this by doing service. Helping others fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing else can. If children do not see their parents doing service and helping others, they may never learn the great joy and fulfillment that comes from giving. One of the best gifts we can give to our family is to provide ways of doing service.

THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY

All of us are born with various ways of expressing our creativity. Expressing creativity is a profound way of connecting with Spirit, since expressed creativity is a direct expression of Spirit. Providing your family with many ways of expressing their creativity is a great gift. Creativity can be expressed in so many ways – cooking, crafts, building things, music, art, movement, telling stories, writing, humor, photography and video – the possibilities are endless! Creative family projects are especially wonderful in creating family closeness.

THE GIFT OF LIGHTNESS OF BEING

Lightness of being – fun, joy, laughter, playfulness – is a great gift to give to others. Lightness of being is infectious – our laughter and playfulness can help others take life less seriously and “lighten up.”

Lightness of being is one the results of all the other gifts – of caring, courage, service and creativity. When we give these gifts, we feel a wonderful lightness within, the lightness that is the result of fully giving from the heart. Our own lightness of being can bring lightness into our whole family. Children love it when their parents are playful, fun loving and joyful. Laughing together as a family is one of the most precious experiences in life.

We need to focus of giving these gifts each day, not just special occasions. These gifts are far more important than any material thing we can buy for someone. In fact, we might not be so focused on material gifts if we frequently give the gift of love – of caring, compassion, courage, service, creativity, and lightness of being.