Morning Motivation: You Are Supported!

One of my favorite movies is “About a Boy,” in which a teenage boy decides that the social support shared by only two family members (the boy and his struggling single mother) is not enough. If something happened to one of those family members, what would happen to the other? Through the rest of the heartwarming movie, we follow his personal quest to find a group of close friends who become extended family members. For me, this movie offers a beautiful example of the opportunity that we all have to consciously build our own loving family. The word “family” once referred pretty exclusively to the nuclear family, but that is changing. Now there are many different conceptions of family: family of origin, family of creation, family by design, etc. I think these different definitions reflect a growing awareness that the concept of “family” is much broader than the small group of people we grew up with:

• "You hear a lot of dialogue on the death of the American family. Families aren't dying. They're merging into big conglomerates." - Erma Bombeckrn
• "Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof." - Richard Bachrn
• "The family is the test of freedom; because the family is the only thing that the free man makes for himself and by himself." - Gilbert K. Chestertonrn
• "The whole world is my family." - Pope John XXIIIrn
• "We are all the same part of one human family." – The Dalai Lama

I think these evolving ideas about family help explain why many people feel they are coming home to family when they log on to Intent.com. When a group of people shares each other’s joys and concerns, supports each other’s intents, and genuinely cares about each other’s happiness and well-being, I think we can confidently describe that group of people as a family. The more we expand our concept of family to include friends, co-workers, community groups, and ultimately the entire human race, the stronger we become as individuals. May you feel supported and empowered today by the united strength of your extended family! To read other motivational and inspirational thoughts throughout the day, follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/DrDebBrown