Blood & Water

ihavesomething2say
Apr 5, 2021
3 min read

"Family is Loving...Caring...Sharing"

During my adolesence, my mother would constantly drill these affirmations into me and my siblings. “Family is loving...caring...sharing”. When I knew the lecture was coming I’d instantly roll my eyes. She would often say each word slowly to ensure we were all listening. It’s crazy how at the time this boring mantra would seem like an annoying alarm bell that wouldn’t switch off however, now that I am older these affirmations have shaped how I view family and how I treat others.

Often we underestimate the power of affirmations. By having those words drilled into me from such an early age my mother was planting these actions into my subconscious. 'Loving, caring and sharing'. The beauty of these words is that they can be applied across the board. They can be the foundation of any relationship.

My mother’s rants about family made me wonder, what is the true meaning of family? These rants would always happen when my siblings and I were at war. My mother would be the peacemaker and remind us of who we are and what we are to each other.

To some, the true meaning of family can be described as a group of people related by blood or ancestry. To others, it has nothing to do with genes and everything to do with love, compassion and support (source: Vocal.media). I agree with both. They say “blood is thicker than water” although, there have been occasions where I have seen how water has come through for me more than blood. I have seen how blood can let you down, how things you’d expect from blood turns out to be water that surpasses those expectations.

“My brother from another mother”

It amazes me how friends can turn into family. How does a friend earn those strips? How do we go from “best friend” to “sister”? Loving, caring & sharing. These mantras have helped me recognise the goodness in people. When people show me love, care for me and share parts of themselves I am able to recognise a light that exists within them 一 I can receive love and give love. Healthy relationships can be formed because I can treat others with love, show a level of care and share where I see fit.

At the time of my mother’s lectures, I simply thought these words could only extend to my brother and sister however, what she was really doing was teaching me how to treat others. She was reminding me of how all types of relationships should be formed. When things go wrong or I cannot see eye to eye these words will humble me and remind me of the value a person adds to my life.

When we lose sight of what’s important or get caught up in our own selfish needs questioning whether we love a person, care about a person and whether we want to share our lives with them can often shake the pride off and bring us back down to reality.

Family is more than just a title. To be a family you have to act like it. I am very particular about titles as I have seen how not everyone lives up to their titles. The problem with titles is that they bring too much expectation.

When a family member does me wrong it hurts twice as hard as it’s simply not expected because of the blood we share. When a friend does me wrong the pain isn’t entirely the same. Although, when someone I deem my “sister” does me wrong despite them not being blood-related the level of pain is similar to a family member. This goes to show, that how you act is everything. The actions of people are what earns family status.

Family is Loving...Caring...Sharing.

C O N S I D E R . . .

Mind - Family is what you make it

Body - Eating together and having family dinners brings you closer

Soul - Remember to show love, care and share