Cultivating World
Connect With Family
“I sustain myself with the love of family”
This Week’s Intentions:
This Week I will...
Establish who my family is
Learn more about my family
Find tools to reconnect with my family
The Goal: Cultivate purpose in your life by having a more meaningful family structure and having more significant family experiences
“Hey everybody, AJ here with the third week of Cultivating Purpose. this week’s theme is entitled “Connect With Your Family.” Now, many of you may already be connecting with your family a lot, and some of you may not have a family at all. But for this week, I want us all to live more purposeful lives by connecting with our families, no matter who you are or what your situation is. For me, family can be biological, spiritual or emotional.
So, I want us to ask ourselves: what is family? Usually, we define family as those who are biologically close to us, those who share our gene pool. But as I'm sure we can all attest to, family can mean a lot of different things depending on your situation. Many of us have a spiritual or religious family. In Christianity, it is said that Christians are 'brothers and sisters in Christ.' In this sense, it is ones belief in Jesus and/or an affiliation with a Church group that makes them family. In my life, I see my girlfriend and our close friends as part of our family network. I am fortunate enough to have a friendship network that acts as a family, as well as a biological family.
So what makes these various units a 'family?' I think for starters, families tend to see the world in similar ways, and these shared values create a practical and emotional connection on which we can build stable relationships. when family members agree on what's important in life, and how to work to get there, harmony is easy to achieve and the family unit will naturally feel more connected and loving.
Beyond that, being a family means caring about each others' well being, and taking action to take care of each other. If a member of my family needs help, every other member of the family works to tend to that need. If helping a family member is an inconvenience, it is viewed as an obstacle to be conquered, because the ultimate goal of improving our family members' lives brings us more satisfaction than any inconvenience can hinder. We help family because we want to help, and the joy we receive from helping family is the greatest blessing in our lives.
When we help our family, the satisfaction is inherent. When I teach my nephews a new skill or way of communicating, I know I am helping them become happier humans, and I know I am providing them the tools to make the whole world a happier place. When I cook for my Aunts and Uncles, I am displaying my love for them by preparing delicious, nutritious food that sustains their bodies and satiate their pleasure centers. When I play games with my cousins, I am igniting in them a joy and laughter that makes their time on Earth worthwhile. My ability to enlighten the lives of my family is my favorite thing to do in life, and to receive their love and support makes me feel like I am in the right place in life.
Quite simply, being in a family provides a network of shared meaning that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Having a family truly means having access to a more purposeful life; your network of influence grows as does your cradle of nourishment. The give and take of being in a family is truly one of the most fulfilling parts of being alive.
But beyond the common ground and shared values, the bedrock of a family relationship is spending time together. Shared experiences is an irreplaceable phenomenon. Being with each other in good times, bad times, and boring times will strengthen interpersonal connections more than anything else. That's why it's extremely important to be around family, and to meet with family frequently enough to feel that comfort and closeness that only comes with spending time with each other
So that what this week is all about-- Cultivating Purpose by connecting with your family, whether that's biological, religious or spiritual, virtual, political, or simply your friend network. Below there are some more details and strategies for how I connect with my family, in addition to some action items for the week. I hope that you have a great week Cultivating Purpose by connecting with your family, and I personally cannot wait to connect with my family this week. So have fun, and Namaste!
Original Content:
Family Dinner 1: Nonny's Zucchini Pasta
Family Dinner 2: Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Family Dinner: Mushroom Arancini (Ingredients)
Family Dinner: Mushroom Arancini (Directions)
Additional Reading, Viewing & Listening Links:
GAME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FAMILY GAME NIGHT
Blokus - a fun strategy game the whole family can pla
KanJam - fun outdoor family game
The Movie Game - an old family favorite-- good for the movie buff famly
Action Items for Connecting with Family:
Create a family fun night, i.e. game night, potluck dinner, movie night, etc. Try to make 'family fun night' a regular thing, i.e. first Sunday of every month.
If you don't have a biological family, try and find a great family to join, i.e. with a local religious/spiritual group like these guys, a political action group like this one, or a regular meetup group. Or, try to create your own new family with neighbors or other folks around you. Remember- a family can be as little as 2 people!
If your current family is too far away to connect with physically, try creating a virtual forum for you to stay in touch, like GroupMe or WhatsApp (trust me it's more effective & fun than it sounds!)
If you want a fun venue for routine family conversations, try starting your own podcast like I did! There are a number of free or cheap recording and posting options-- I use Opinion for my podcast- called The Unneccessary Podcast. I started it as a venue to reconnect with my brother Lee!