I did a session with a certified Family Constellations facilitator on my birthday. It was a gift to myself and relative to my ongoing commitment for deep inner work, self-realization, and the power of acquired patterns. During the session, it was obvious how much I value Friendships - Relationships. They are central to the way I work, pray, eat, celebrate, create, live, plan, vacation, holiday, and play. This is also true for my family heritage. As I reflect on the bounty of blessings in my life, it is astounding how I have been and am supported through relationships and the best of friends.

There is some real work in the arena of friends too. Friends provide a mirror to presence and a testament to the power of forgiveness. Friendships not only help us to see ourselves through another's eyes, and are sustained over the years only with those who repeatedly forgive us for our trespasses, mistakes, and humanness---as we must also find it in ourselves to forgive them.

Friends know our difficulties and shadows and friendship is a companion to our vulnerabilities as much as our triumphs. An undercurrent of real friendship is a blessing, exactly because it is rediscovered again and again through tolerance, understanding, and grace.

The power of friendship is almost always underestimated as a constant force in our human "being-ness". A diminishing circle of friends is one of the first unfortunate symptoms of a life headed for trouble: of overwork; of too much emphasis on a professional identity; of forgetting who will be there when our armored personalities run into the inevitable natural disasters and vulnerabilities found in even the most ordinary human existence.

Perhaps best of all -- friendship endures after death, the relationship advancing and maturing in a silent, internal, easy conversational way even after one half of the bond has passed on.

But no matter the virtues of being a true friend, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen and known by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them, for however brief a span, on a shared journey. The true benefits of friendship are immeasurable. Friends make our lives better and studies show that friendship has a bigger impact on our physical and psychological wellbeing than even family relationships.

Today, we are a lot more isolated in our own homes and lives and more separate from each other. The opportunities for coming together are much more limited and the time spent together in this way greatly reduced. Because of this, we can miss the beautiful healing and nourishment that comes from being with other. It requires special intentions, attention, and action to provide this nurturing.

A 2006 breast cancer study found that women without close friends were four times as likely to die from the disease as women with 10 or more friends. And notably, proximity and the amount of contact with a friend weren't associated with survival. Just having friends was protective. Women with close friends are less likely to die from disease. If this is true, I may live forever.

Here's a TED talk https://youtu.be/HSercnrqeN4 on the importance of female friendships as a renewable source of power.

So, dear friends - THANK YOU! - You have provided very good medicine to me and many. May your fruits be realized in and through you exponentially. Biggest heart hug and know that I am determined to connect in infinite and eternal, creative ways. In the meantime, see the calendar below and "aim" for me.

Greatest of love,

To view all events in 2019, click here.

Uppa Creek... No Paddle Needed is now available in print. Order your copy   by clicking the button below or see me along the path. I have some in my "retail outlet" aka my trunk.

For a complete list of Martha's events, please visit 

www.marthacreek.com.