Silver and Gold

One of my students was recently doing a practice reading on me and she said, “For some reason Susan, I keep hearing that old song we sang in Girl Scouts that goes like, ‘Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold.”  I started to laugh, because it really did give a clever representation of who I am.  

I truly value ALL the people in my life. Whether we met in kindergarten and have been BFF’s for the past 50 years, we met at the roller rink when I was 9, or we shared a table at a local pub and later became dear friends; everyone I know is special to me in some way. 

I believe this is why we are here; to not only learn of course, but to help others with their challenges and trials, and also be able to cheer for them in their triumphs.  This may be MY truth, but it’s not everyone’s.

I recall after a breakup, my ex simply walked away from the relationship and didn’t look back.  This was devastating for me at the time.  I simply could not understand how we could be best friends and partners for so many years, and then just dissolve to nothing.  It was a powerful lesson for me, because it took this situation before I realized not everyone values the people in the life in the same way.  Not because they may not have been important at one time, but because their own life challenges and experiences may not allow them to.

Every relationship we have in life touches us in some way (positive or negative), but it also shows us something about who we are.  All of our relationships are in place to hold up a mirror.   Sometimes what we see can upset us and we run, but as the old adage states, “Wherever you go, there you are.”  

Think of the relationships in our lives.  Every person is special in their own way.  Each one teaches us about things like love, respect, acceptance, joy, anger, insecurity, and fear.  But what we are really seeing is a reflection of ourselves in their eyes.  Sometimes, it may not be what we want to see, but perhaps it is what we need to see.  

When we understand this, we may have a different view about the person who leaves their shopping cart next to their car, or cuts us off in traffic, because we all have aspects of this in our own personality.  See this as a gift and a lesson and not an inconvenience, and life may take on an entirely new perspective.