A Reason, Season, Or Lifetime

My friend in Tucson introduced me to this thought awhile back after a nasty break-up. It seems to be quite fitting, esp since I really believe that people come into your life in one or all of the above.

The community I've surrounded myself with starts as a group of "reason" or "season" people- upbeat, happy, usually-competitive, athletic folks, either triathletes, runners, and cyclists. The bonus is always the possibility that they will be in my world for a "lifetime." Many of my best friendships lasting years on end are with these people. However some of them are just "reason" friends, and after we complete our training session/race we part ways until the next event brings us together again.

Then there are my friends who have been around thru thick and thin--All of the hardships, the disagreements, the break-ups, the make-ups, the people I can call whenever I am just feeling the need to vent, get some sound advice, or just B*tch my little heart out (which I tend to do!!) when I know everyone else is probably not going to get it. They are my lifeline. My strength for those days, though few and far between, when I really need a shoulder to cry on.

My immediate family, they are my "lifetime." That's a given, since no matter near or far, sick, healthy, dead or alive, they have shaped my life. While some family are only around for a short season, and others specifically find a reason, they are still important figures in my world.

Most of the men I've dated can also go into the above "reason" and "season" categories, since after a few months/weeks/years their reason and season have failed to keep them around for a "lifetime." In some ways, its a bit depressing. But on the other hand, what you don't find in some people makes you keep searching for it in the others that come into your life for the next reason or season.

I think this lesson is a positive way to look at your personal relationships--with family, friends, and all of the others in between. Every person that comes into your life makes an impression, a footprint, leaving their mark so as to influence your life, your decisions, your next big move. So think about your life, your relationships, and how the people whose paths you cross usually can somehow fit into one or a few of the above

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