a special feature from Kay Ziplow & Leslie Zinberg, founders

When it comes to family relationships, sometimes as difficult as they may be, you have to check your baggage at the door and enter the family dynamics without cause, or opinion, or direction. Often learning how to put a hold on your own ideology, or your own agenda is as difficult as saying no to that delicious and sinfully rich chocolate fudge cake. Bottom line- think before you speak or act.  Respond rather than react. Maybe cite a cute example of something as simple as saying how delicious the family meal was, even though you could not disseminate between the green bean or the chocolate chip cookie- so what if that happened. Don’t ever expect more than cherishing that you are simply still together. Nothing else matters. After grappling through the past few years, let’s enjoy and embrace what we now have.

As posted in a previous GPL article, yes, it’s true family relationships are tough. It is possible to achieve family harmony, despite all the different personalities, needs, dispositions, temperaments, and personas. This notion of being unified on the basis of mutual family respect, tolerance, consideration, and love, doesn’t mean that anyone will lose their identity. The ability to trust, support, and communicate differences in a constructive manner, and look beyond the selfness, can procure a healthy picture of family and connections. For additional tips on how to achieve family harmony, read more here!