We can have friends we care about, family we love, business associates we appreciate. They may or may not also be in our inner circles. Those who are part of our inner circles, however, remain in our being and can withstand long periods of separation before reconnecting and feeling as if we were together just yesterday.

Those who are
part of our inner circles
remain in our being and can with
stand long periods of separation before
reconnecting and feeling as if we were
together just yesterday.

When we sit still, close our eyes, and picture our inner circles, people will come to mind and we will feel our smile. We don't want to take these people for granted.

It is too easy in our fast-paced lives to let too much time elapse between contact, especially if we are separated by distance. Once we achieve a certain age, we begin to realize there is not always enough time to make a phone call, schedule a visit, tell someone we love them. One day when we do have time to connect, the other person may be gone.

An occasional "like" on Facebook isn't enough.

I have a few friends who take a vacation with long-time girlfriends every year. Men do the same in the form of hunting trips, fishing excursions, poker nights. Whatever form it takes, a get-together with our inner circle people will feel like a trip to Disney World. It is a treat given to ourselves.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.