Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and light.
Here
we are at the start of a new year. 2022 is a ‘6’ year. 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. I’m
certainly not an expert on Numerology so I invite those of you who know more
than I do to add your knowledge to this post in the Comments below.
What
I do know about the number six is it is about relationships.
So
the question then becomes, relationships
with whom?
The
list could be long or very very short. The very very short list is comprised of
one word: Everyone!
What
does it take to work on relationships?
That
answer can be complex or simple.
Simple is to treat others as we want to be treated. That includes being kind, compassionate, caring,
understanding, tolerant, accepting and forgiving among other traits.
Complex, from my
perspective, means we spend our
energy trying to make other people different instead of accepting them as they
are.
One of my beliefs is that we are all on our own path in this lifetime and all of our experiences are opportunities for us to learn and grow as individuals. Those of you who have read my books both fiction and non-fiction as well as previous blog posts over the years know that I see love as having two parts.
The
emotion of love is one part but what is even more critical is the behavior piece.
Many of us have known or even still know people who say they love us but engage
in non-loving behaviors. Dr. William Glasser called those behaviors the 7 Deadly Habits: criticizing, blaming,
complaining, nagging, threatening, punishing and rewarding to control. I’d add
physicality such as hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving, etc.
None of these choices help our relationships and all of them are an
attempt to make someone else change.
Dr. Glasser also had the 7 Caring Habits: supporting, encouraging, listening (to
understand rather than counter), accepting, trusting, respecting and
negotiating differences. I think you’ll see some repetition from my earlier
paragraph on making a relationship work.
Change
is not always easy and 2022 gives us a new opportunity to change our choices if
we want better relationships. Learning to accept if not love a person who is
diametrically opposed to who we are is not always easy. Accepting the truth
that the only person’s behavior we can change is our own is Step #1.
What relationships do you want to nurture or improve in 2022? And don’t forget your relationship with you!!!
You can learn more about how to create relationships
that work in my Sacred Women’s Circle
series.
My Staying Sane in
a Crazy World, provides
you with a template to create your Personal Staying Sane Plan to help you
through the challenging times.
You can find all of my
books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if
you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.
Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net
Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19
Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.
You can also find Judith
on FB!
© 2022
Judith Ashley
6 comments:
What an excellent post this is, Juith! I love that a focus on relationships is what 2022 is all about. After all it is relationships--small and big--that make the difference in our world as a whole. Those 7 deadly habits wreak havoc on a personal level and can on a community, country, or world level of leaders embrace those instead of the Caring ones.
I'm posting those 7 caring habits where I can see them every day and be reminded. May your relationships this year be amazingly caring all around you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Maggie. I have the Deadly and Caring Habits on a magnet next to my computer so I see them multiple times a day. It is always a good thing to remember that they apply to us personally as in do I talk to myself using the Caring or the Deadly habits. Many women in my generation were raised to see being proud of an accomplishment, etc. as wrong or bad - even sinful. There is still more of that thinking in the world than I like but I do see progress.
Thanks for an inspiring blog post! The caring habits are ones to live by for sure. And wouldn't it be nice if everyone did!
Nice begets, nice. Happy 2022!
Lovely post, Judith and a good reminder of what we value as human beings - for both our friends and family, and for ourselves. A succinct reminder. Here's to an uplifting year of caring in 2022 and beyond.
Diana, thanks for stopping by and commenting. It would be Very Nice if everyone actually lived by the "golden rule" or the 7 Caring Habits.
Deb, Dr. Glasser talked about the importance of being free to meet make our life choices but also cautioned that we need to stop short of curtailing another person's choices. I do believe that if we could reach that point in the world, we'd all be better off.
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