Sunday, February 19, 2012

Family

Family.....that word means different things to different folks.  For some, family is only blood.....for others, it is a love that transcends blood lines and becomes almost a spiritual meeting of minds and souls.  I have thought a lot about that word family the past few weeks.  I believe family is much more than blood kin.  I have friends who treat me like family.  They want me in their life, no matter what.

My dogs are family.  They sense my illness, sadness, or happiness.....and they love me no matter what.

Family is way more than marriage or blood.  Family, is that sense of belonging, of being cared for,
of trust.  Co-workers can be family,  think of how much time you spend on the job......if there is that sense of family......going to work every day is not so bad.

You can spend your whole life in a family and never feel like you belong.  You can meet a stranger and in five minutes feel as though they are family.    I think that sense of family is quite tribal.  It really is all about belonging, of feeling needed, of fitting in.
Family is not who's related to who......I think it's all about how we relate to each other.

7 comments:

  1. Excellent post, Jilda. When a tragedy happened in my life in 2007 I got more support from co-workers than from my own parents. Sometimes life surprises you. I totally agree with you on the concept of family.

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  2. Perfectly said. A friend recently sent me this in a note - I consider you more my sister than my own sister - now that's family!

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  3. I agree with you. Family means much more than who we are related to. It is where we feel loved and accepted.

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  4. Oh Jilda! You are wise and wonderful! I love my blood family but I belong to my own chosen family! Take care
    x

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  5. I've got four friends that I have known since I was five years old. These are the family that I chose. And my wife of course.

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  6. I'm grateful for my loving biological family but I have a Church family that I love and even my co-workers, who I consider my dysfunctional family, are ones I would do anything for if they need it. I've found wonderful people in blogging that I would take into my family in a minute also. It's really a small world when we think of it as a family unit.

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  7. Yes yes yes I agree family means so much more then blood tires.......my husband never felt like he belonged in his family but when he meet me he said he found out what being part of a family was.......

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