There is a poem we have hanging in the lobby of our office that the majority of people who read it ask for a copy. It seems to “hit home” for most of us and people want to share the poem with friends and family. Although the author is anonymous, we can all find profound wisdom in the words.

Everyone Can’t Be In The Front Row

Life is a theater. Invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in your life who need to be loved from a distance. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize, your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships.

Observe the relationships around you.  Pay attention.

• Which ones lift and which ones lean?
• Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?
• Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?
• When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?
• Which ones always have drama, or don’t understand, know or appreciate you?

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life. You can not change the people around you, but you can change the people you are around.

For all you codependents out there, may you surround yourself with goodness and light…..

“What we have learned from others becomes our own reflection.”  
— Ralph Waldo Emerson