There are families we are born into.

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Families related to by blood.

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Ones we did not have a choice in joining.

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And these families are important.

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They show us where we came from and who we were.

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Yet there are other families in our lives that show us something else.

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These are not families of origin, but families of choice.

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They are the families made up of the people in our lives that are special to us.

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The ones we know we can rely on.

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For we are not forced into these families.

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While we may not share blood with these people, sometimes they can be jfar closer to us.

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Because these families are families of choice.

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Families of the heart.

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Through them we know who we are today.

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Who we are becoming.

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And who we are in relationship to the larger world around us.

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Sometimes these families are made up of long time friends.

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Or coworkers whom we spend most of our waking hours with.

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They can sometimes be the people we met when we dedicate ourselves to a cause.

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Maybe they are those whom we meet along the way on our healing path.

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Sharing a history of experiences that no one else knows about.

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Regardless of who they are or how we came to be close to them, one thing is for certain.

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When we choose to be part of a family, it comes not out of obligation but out of love.

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Out of connection and belonging.

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Those bonds can last more than a lifetime.

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Sometimes even being passed down through generations of friendships that go beyond reason.

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For love can be thicker than blood.

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So should we be fortunate enough to find a family of the heart, it is worth treasuring it dearly.

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The connections and bonds formed in those families can be magical.

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They can be surprisingly deep.

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And filled with an unexpected joy.

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Is that not sometime to treasure for a lifetime?

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Does you have a families of choice that lives in your heart?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour