Meaning of Friendship

How many of you had a dog growing up? Would you have introduced that dog as your best friend? That relationship teaches us big things like how to share and small things like the joy in seeing each other after an absence. Dogs teach us about trust, cooperation, and patience. In the world of dog shows, they also teach us the value of teamwork. That is true of Gemma the beagle and her handler, Laura Chamness. They are always a joy to watch simply because they enjoy being together and their friendship shines. Gemma is always a crowd pleaser with her effortless movement around the ring with her bestie Laura and her super cute trick of sitting up to “beg” is entertaining to say the least! But, the thing about these friends is that it took work to form this bond, they had to learn to trust each other, they had to learn each other’s expectations, and their boundaries.

Let’s look at friendship for this week’s Wellness Wednesday. Our friends can help cheer us up when we are down, and they can encourage us to meet our goals. But how do we maintain these friendships? How do we continue to grow real connections in a fast-paced world? Friendships take effort and need input to continue to flourish. Keeping friends involves staying in touch, that can be small things like random phone calls or texts to keep communication open. It also means acknowledging differences, for example Gemma likes the treadmill and Laura… well maybe not so much! For this week’s challenge, think about ways to continue to grow your closest friendships while also looking for ways to encourage newer friendships to sprout!

Many thanks to Laura Chamness (handler), and Gemma's co-owners Jen Baker and Laura Martini for sharing your picture with us!

Author: Lydia J.