Advice

I think advice is such a funny thing.

I was talking about a situation with a friend the other night, and all the advice she was giving to me on behalf of the other person was 100% applicable to her own life! I kept thinking with each statement, man don't you see that that is for YOU!

On the same note, I spent Sunday at one my friend's parent's house, with a little group of friends. I can honestly say this couple's marriage is one of two that I truly admire. The other marriage is one that I have not personally seen in action, but have heard the wife only speak of amazing things about her husband and their relationship.

The only thing about this marriage that I was admiring on Sunday was that it is a second marriage. Which scares me. How is it that out of my entire life, and all the examples of marriage and love that I have witnessed, only two marriages stand out in my head? One being a second marriage, where they have learned from their mistakes the first time.

I'm so intrigued with marriages and how couples function and work as a unit, and just relationships in general. Spending the evening with this couple, hearing them praise each other, and how much they love each other and love spending time together made me feel hope. Even if they have learned from their mistakes from their first run, that doesn't mean I can't learn FROM them, and make my first run through just as healthy and successful as their second run, right?

In reference to my comment about my friend not hearing her own advice. I think sometimes we can't hear the advice we need because we aren't willing to. Change is hard, it's true. Sometimes advice isn't welcome, we don't want to hear it, we don't feel we need it, or we don't respect the person who is giving us the advice. I believe if you can find an example of something you want in your life, and you are able to soak up any knowledge from that person, whether you feel you need it or not, I think it can become a beautiful thing. We are all here to learn and grow and love. So, let's learn from people who have made mistakes and have grown and learn from them, and let us try to not make those mistakes. That is what mistakes are for, to realize what went wrong, and fix it!

So I put that out there to you, if you don't respect a person giving you advice in a situation where you need it, look elsewhere where there is respect so you can really learn and become a better person for it.

xoxo
Ruthie