This is Part 3 in a 4-part series about Women’s Friendships by Sheree Franklin
Women often know when they intuitively “click” with a new female friend. It can happen in the strangest places…standing in a long bathroom line at a concert, sitting in a chair next to another woman in the hair salon, shopping for vegetables at Whole Foods and sometimes living next door to a person who always has your back. There is no owner’s manual on how these friendships begin, but if you are willing to open yourself up to a new friend, these are the friendships that will often make your world infinitely better and give you a reason to smile each day!
In this Part 3 series on women’s friendships, we will explore Energy-Raising Friendships.
Energy-Raising Friendships
This type of friendship does not develop over a defined time period. When the two women meet, they know intuitively that they feel good about being around each other. They do not judge one another, and they like the fact that they both act as each other’s “cheerleaders,” providing support when it’s needed. The two friends who meet spontaneously know in their hearts that the new person they met gets them at a soul level. Each person is authentic and speaks from the heart, even when what they have to say is not easy to express. Each person has a good understanding of their own emotional baggage and has worked to release and forgive the past. The two women are sensitive to each other’s needs and work together to resolve differences quickly. Even if they do not see each other for a long period of time, whenever they connect the two immediately pick up wherever they left off.
Risk factor: It can be difficult to trust a new sustaining friendship, especially if you have been hurt in the past or are not open to taking risks with new people. Also, despite your busyness, it is important to make time for a sustaining friendship. People do not want to feel that they are another item on your to-do-list or that you only make time for the friendship when you do not have a date or when your partner or husband is out of town. The biggest risk is that the two women will meet and recognize their special connection and neither one will make the effort by either getting their cell phone number and/or making and keeping plans to see their new friend.
Lessons to learn: Both people must be willing to risk vulnerability with the other person. In addition, they must find out the other’s person’s special interests and needs and follow-through in making plans to see each other when time permits.
Intuitive Life Strategist Sheree Franklin helps people to find the courage to release their life challenges in order to live in alignment with their true self. She is the author of Intuition: The Hidden Asset Everyone Should Learn to Use. To learn more about Franklin’s book go to www.amzn.to/1UxlWLG. Sheree Franklin is a practitioner at Holistic Health Practice at One East Superior, in Chicago. Her practice includes one-to-one coaching as well as speaking to corporate and nonprofit organizations. For more information, go to www.shereefranklin.com or call 312-664-8376.