Did you ever count your Christmas gifts to make sure your brothers or sisters didn’t have more? I did.

I’d sneak all the gifts out from under the tree to tally who was the leader in the Christmas gift count. Instead of considering what the packages held, it was so important to have at least an equal number of gifts as my sisters.

One area where counting gifts is a good exercise is in the practice of counting our blessings and, as is our mission here at Girlfriendology, taking count of the gift of friendships and the wonderful people who bless our lives. It’s a great way of noting the joys and even the sadness of 2009. It helps us take stock of how our relationships have impacted our year, our state of mind and our lives. Try this exercise: Write down the highlights of the year. What were your favorite memories? What things did you do, accomplish, receive or learn that gave you joy or will influence your future? Did you take trips, reconnect with friends, achieve goals, make new friends? Then review it and consider how these relationships and events impact who, on December 22nd – or whatever day it is, you’ve become.

Why do I love this exercise of taking stock of the events and people in our lives? Because with it I can identify the little things, like meeting my friend Judi at a networking event, that changed the direction of my life. (Judi and I are now working on cool things together.) I love looking at the happy moments of the year – like, for me, time spent with our friends in CO, MN, PA and IN; or the fun girlfriend’s book club events and how we’ve grown our friendships and shared a lot of laughs. I even appreciate noting the sadness throughout the year like the illness of a dear friend – that I’m happy for the blessing of knowing her and our memories together. It’s an opportunity to note the impact my friends have had on me and the joy of being there for them.

Another example, through social media (like our Facebook group, Twitter friends and LinkedIn), I’ve connected with friends and now know more about their lives and that just naturally brings us closer. I love that!

What were the highlights of your year?

What new friendship impacted your life? Who have you reconnected with that has made your year more meaningful? Count the gifts of friendship and your blessings at Christmas – and any time throughout the year. And make sure you share and inspire others with your findings!

Tags: 2009, 2010, blessings, Christmas, count your blessings, counting gifts, friendships, girlfriends, Holidays

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.