I had my book launch party on Saturday, and the swirl of surrounding events has included one of my all-time favorite things: deeply connecting with friends.

The power of friendship is one of the messages in my series Piper Pan and Her Merry Band. In fact, the journey Piper and “The Lifers” take from a group of individuals forced together by circumstance to a group of friends bonded by choice, is a good deal of what book one, The Curse of the Neverland, is about.

Some would say it is because I grew up fairly isolated, moving a lot and as the only girl among three brothers, that I so deeply value friendship. But I take a different perspective: my knack for deep friendship is one of my gifts. So often our souls choose life circumstances for us designed to birth our gifts. If I’d grown up in one community with lots of family close by and the same group of peers from kindergarten on, I might never have learned that making deep heart connections is not only something I have a knack for, but that sustains me as nothing else does.

I’ve lived in New Jersey, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Alaska, in Peru, and in Afghanistan (long ago in a peaceful era). The friends I’ve made along the way are my greatest treasure. Because I’ve known the ache of loneliness, the bliss of loving connection is that much more powerful.

Coach’s Challenge: Take some quiet time and reflect on what you value most in your life. Did that value stem from a previous need? Look for how the value connects with one of your gifts in life. And leave a comment. Share your gift with us. Go on, out yourself! It’s bragging time!

Lindy MacLaine of lindymaclaine.com is a Life Purpose Coach whose messages empower and inspire those in the second bloom of life to reclaim their dreams, reignite their passions and rekindle their joy.

She is the author of the forthcoming fantasy adventure book The Curse of the Neverland, for women and girls of any age who loved the Neverland and wanted to go there for something far more then Spring Cleaning.