Raise Me Up~

Today I thought I ‘d post about a subject that has come up in conversation several times over the last few weeks. Friendships. Friendship is a wonderful thing. It’s awesome to have people you know you can count on no matter what. Who are there when the “chips are down” as they say. It’s great to have people you can call anytime of the day or night, and they will pick up and give a hand or a listening ear, if that’s what you need. I am blessed to say I have friends like that. But what I really want to post about is a little more difficult and complicated than that. It’s about when you have friends, but they are a negative influence on your life. And I don’t mean that in the traditional sense, as in ” drugs, alchohol or bad behaviours”. The people I mean are great people. They’re not dragging you into bank robbery, or anything like that. They are dragging you down in a whole other way. They suffer from the “negativity sickness”. You know exactly what I mean! The whole “My life is terrible! Why do bad things always happen to me? I’m sick. I’m tired. My dog ran off. My kids aren’t doing well in school. My job is stressful. The bills are due. We’re in debt. The truck broke down. Why does so and so have more money, a better house, a nicer car, and their kids have better stuff?” , and all this in a space of less than 5 minutes conversation. And I don’t mean this as a one-time occurrence. This is their normal. Now before you get upset with me, and say, “Well, life is hard! Maybe they have good reason to complain!” , let me say this. I KNOW that things are tough. I know life can be a struggle. But , some people NEVER have anything good to say. Their entire conversation revolves around how miserable they are. And this makes it very difficult to maintain a friendship with them. When you are chronically ill, you cannot afford to focus only on the negative. And I finally came to the conclusion, that I cannot afford to have people in my life whose only focus is the unpleasant. It really drags me down emotionally, which leads to being dragged down physically in my body. So this might sound harsh, but I have chosen to limit my involvement with people like that. Even though I love them, and wish them only the best. For my well -being, I have chosen to surround myself with people who are positive, and encourage me to feel the same. If you are struggling with this problem, try taking a few steps back from those who are causing you to sink into that negative place, and see if it makes you feel better! Stay positive everyone!