Ever feel distant from a parent, sibling or child? The first step to reestablishing a relationship with a parent, sibling, or child is to first reach out. Many people in this day simply are complacent, they wait and wait and wait for something to happen. Since waiting for a spontaneous response will fail (pulling from my own experience) the first step will be to take the initiative. Have the courage to make a phone call or to sit down and have a conversation. Learn to communicate what desire you have in a loving way. I have found with my own siblings, especially my little sister, that reaching out is the first step. However, when we do not act on reaching out nothing gets down, regardless of our desire. So… Reach out! You can do this in several ways, often it takes the form of a text message for myself. In this day and age of information, this communication is possible through a lot of mediums. When and how you communicate is important. If you fail to communicate it leads to frustration and resentment towards yourself or another party. When you communicate to your loved ones, find interest in their lives. For them to take interest in your life, you need to take interest in theirs. I have felt greater value when another takes interest in myself. This will lead to a greater positive relationship and the seeds to the greater relationship that you want with your loved ones. I have three older brothers and a younger sister, often I feel distant from them, I have tried to reach out a handful of times, but I often fail to communicate my desire for a greater relationship with them. This I find is because I lack enough interest in their lives. I don’t have any connections with them, so even if I would say reach out once or twice it does not last. Here is an analogy. Your desire let’s say is a seed. For the seed to germinate, it needs a variety of things, water, sun, and nutrients. Without family connections to generate interest its like under watering the plant or denying it water all together. But when you find family connections you water your plant, so it starts to thrive. Sunlight comes in the form of communication from the other party, if they too have meaningful communication with you it will nurture and allow the plant to thrive just as sunlight is vital to a plant’s survival. The nutrients are the environment you choose to communicate, how you act, feel, and how well it is reciprocated. You don’t want to approach this with negative feelings. It will only bring toxins and kill the plant. Once the plant has started to grow it will require regular maintenance to keep the plant thriving. A thriving plant is not a wilting one so if you notice a stagnation or decay in your relationships, seek ways to grow and nourish it. Like plants, family relationships can grow and decay but never both at the same time. There are several factors that can influence relationships that I understand that permanently can influence your mindset on this post. Family divorce, a fight or disagreement, difference in ethical values, strife, or a negative attitude can directly influence this from the start. For those struggling through these, I do not condone you if you do not want to apply this advice. Relationships are complicated and require sensitivity.