ABSENCE DOES NOT MAKE THE HEART GROW FONDER
The reason we are bound so tightly to members
in our immediate family is largely due to the fact that we are “with”
them. When a child comes into the world,
the helplessness of the newborn child requires proximity of the most intense
kind. The child’s literal lifeline is
the mother. The survival of the child,
on every level of life is dependent on that binding. Children grow and learn in
the nest of the family and are nurtured by one another. The world of the child
expands as time passes and other relationships are introduced into their
world. Friends become a significant part
of their social development and friends that they are continually with become
bound to them, to some degree, but seem to fade in and out of their lives. Family members remain the underlying constant
throughout their life. When a child becomes of age to embark on the journey of
discovery that will lead them eventually to marriage, the time spent with those
involved in that discovery process will be the determining factor in ultimately
being able to make the choice of who it is they will entrust their lives and
future and the lives of their future children together. Living closely together and spending time
with one another is the secret to “hearts growing fonder.” When loved ones need to leave, out of
necessity, for short periods of time, it is necessary to take steps to regroup
with significant time spent together and an increase of emotional energy to strengthen
the relationships. When someone leaves
permanently, there is heartbreak. Friends who desire to remain close must make
unusual efforts to keep those bonds tight by planning for frequency of
reuniting because there is not built into that social organism the power to draw
together that the family innately has within it. Growing “fonder hearts” is the most beautiful
form of gardening. The family is the
ultimate garden.
No comments:
Post a Comment