The Best Things in Life that are free

“You aren't really wealthy until you have something that money can't buy”

- Garth Brooks

Hi awesome people! How are you doing? It's a beautiful day already and I am so overwhelmed because I will be doing what I did yesterday and was able to meet up with all I planned to do and had time to rest. In fact, I was finding some other things to do as I looked for what to do but all I just did was to rest and finally slept. It was a great day for me which made me happy. Today will go the same way for me since I do not have anything else apart from my activities online and preparing meals for the house. 

Today is the last day of the six weeks challenge we were doing on Hive by Dreemport and it has been amazing ever since we started. @FarmGirl @CoquiCoin @TengoLoTodo and others would testify as we all are part of the dreemport challenge. 

Okay, let's get back here. For the next three days, I will be discussing three things that are the best in life which money cannot buy, but are free. Yes, they are free. 

Have you gone to the market to see accessories and clothes that you really admire, and you paid for it? Those material things are what money could buy and aren´t free except you are gifted, but what of the giver? Didn´t he or she pay for it?

We have heard that there are things money cannot buy apart from the food we eat, clothes we wear, places we visit for vacation and the likes. Those things are happiness, health, love, peace, Grace etc

To make you know also that there are beautiful things in the world that can be obtained freely without having to save or borrow money for it, it all depends on how you take them seriously and want to be better too. 

I read a book about a couple who had everything, houses, cars, lands, maids to serve them and other things, but they weren't happy. Why is that? These people are wealthy and have everything in their possession, they could buy things with their money but something was missing and the first time they invited another couple into their house, they were surprised at the games that were introduced to them. They never knew life could be fun aside from the idea of staying indoors all by themselves and getting served by their maids.

Nurturing your friendships

In our lives, we want to be loved, feel special, and have friends who would be there for us even in our tough times. We all crave friendships that will build us up and guide us in the right path. We long for someone to laugh with, play with, someone to cry with, and someone to cheer us up, those friendships that would look at us and say “I'm rooting for you” but all these are lacking in most of us because we struggle when it comes to building and creating friendships. 

Yes, life gets hectic and we are on the run hustling to make our lives better, it is hard to keep tabs on your life, not to talk of someone else´s. Many people now ignore real relationships and focus on the superficial Facebook variety, trying to convince or assure ourselves that when we see their photos on Facebook, and like enough status updates, we will be caught up with friends' lives. 

But all these aren't going anywhere because I have come to realize that the most basic lesson of friendship is that “in order to have a friend, you must be a friend.” What will it look like when you haven't loved yourself and want to love another? How do you show love to another when you are unable to truly love yourself to understand how love goes, the sacrifices one needs to make in order to prove that you love someone? If you do not love yourself, you cannot show love elsewhere. 

Some of the loneliest people in life are those sitting and waiting for people to come to them, which makes you wonder why they do not have any friends. There are those who believe that if you don't come for them, they will not come to you either. At that moment, they feel unappreciated, unwanted, ignored and grow resentful when they see other people creating friendships that come naturally and yet, it never occurs to them that they have to make the first move. 

I remember I told you sometimes how my younger sister can easily build up friendships naturally, whereas I struggle to make friends. Perhaps, I would say it's because of my introverted nature that makes it so, but I have understood how friendship works, if you do not make the move first, you will always feel lonely with no friends. 

When was the last time you checked up on your friend? When was the last time you picked your phone to call that friend of yours without waiting for them to call you first? We will always be there if we expect people to call us first without making the move to do that. 

It takes effort and intentionality to be a good friend. This means being willing to go out and putting yourself out there and risk rejection, because the reward of true friendship is always worth the risk. 

How do we renew our old friends and build connections?

Make a list of the friends you have, even your acquaintances which you are intending to create a true friendship with. This could be those old friends you have lost touch with or your new friends. Keep the list close to you and start thinking of ways to connect back again. Put the list in your front and start praying for them. If it is possible, reach out to some via text messages and ask if they have any prayer request you can pray for them about. Pray for them in your closet and keep doing this everyday. 

Block out time. If you actually make friendship your priority, you will always find time out of your busy schedule and make up with them. You can both go out to share ideas, interests and have fun. It can be volunteering for a coffee time together with them, also, you can bring up a game you can play with and have fun. This is a way to build and connect with old and new friends. 

Reach out. Do not wait for others to reach out to you first, but reach out to them first yourself and don´t waste time on it. 

Then lastly, show grace. How do you do this? We need to understand that human beings are not perfect. They will make mistakes, hurt your feelings, betray you and forget to show up, making a decision we do not agree with. To have a friend, we must be a friend. It means we must learn to forgive them when they wrong you. Give them grace for another chance to make amends, look for the good instead of the bad in them and treat them in the way you would like to be treated.  Being able to show grace by forgiving others from our heart is what true friendship is all about. 

Watch out for the second beautiful and best thing in life that is free. 

Thanks for reading. 

Image one and Image Two from Unsplash, edited on Canva.

[April 15, 2022] (No 105 article for the year)