Last night I watched “ Into the Wild” directed by Sean Penn. It is the story of Chris McCandless who adventures across the country, leaving his world and family behind him to seek life’s truth in the Alaskan wild. At the end of the movie, and at the end of his life, Chris comes to a humble realization. He writes “Happiness isn’t real unless it is shared.”

I think I must have always known this truth, because my happiest memories are moments of time within a community. Summer camp, family vacations, The Artist’s Way workshops, and road trips with friends – they all have a common thread of sharing moments with friends and family. When my second child was an infant, I looked into my life balance “relationship bucket” (that used to overflow without any effort) and realized it was close to being empty. My relationship with my children proudly looked up at me inside that bucket, but I realized my other relationships were out of balance. I needed to share my life and my life experiences with others to truly fill my relationship bucket again.

It took some time and a lot of energy to add to my relationship bucket, but I now actively work on creating a balance between my children and my other relationships. I have created several strategies to keep my “relationship bucket” as full as possible. Here are a few of my recent actions:

1. I take every Thursday evening off from being a mom and spend time with friends.

2. I registered for a creative writing workshop with SARK  at a yoga center in the Berkshire Mountains. I can’t wait to share this experience with new friends.

3. My husband and I are experiencing Oprah’s online class “A New Earth Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” together.

How full is your relationship bucket? Is it out of balance?
How do you fill your relationship bucket? Do you believe happiness isn’t real unless it is shared?