Hmmmmm...05-13-13

Hmmmmm…05/13/13

"There's one sad truth in life I've found while journeying east and west. The only folks we really wound are those we love the best. We flatter those we scarcely know. We please the fleeting guest. And deal full many a thoughtless blow to those who love us best." -Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Have you hugged your child (spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, sister, or brother) today? 

As famous song lyrics remind us, “You always hurt the one you love, the one you shouldn’t hurt at all.”  And yet, we tend to give ourselves a Get Out of Jail Free card when we mistreat those closest to us.  We justify our behavior by telling ourselves that since our loved ones know us the best, they should understand.  They should forgive.  They should know we love them. 

While a certain amount of venting is healthy, be cautious about becoming the family fault-finder.  If you’ve become the armchair critic at home, it’s time to relinquish your La-Z-Boy. Ask yourself if you would ever treat your co-workers the same way you sometimes treat your spouse.  Are you as patient with your own child as you are with someone else’s?

Instead of folding your arms in disdain, how about opening them in a gesture of love?  There are physical benefits to hugging.  It reduces stress and improves the immune system of the hugger and the huggee!  The average person needs four hugs a day to reap these rewards.  Why not start with your own family?

Charity begins at home,

Gina J