Gentlemen, what this particular "B" is referring to is our social attachments. When it comes to our BONDS there are many concepts that may arise in our minds and that I will address in this section. For instance, our buddies, our fellow brothers, family, boundaries, boobies (female friends), and the main one, which is Intimacy.

To begin with, the etymology of BOND comes from the early 13th century that means "anything that binds." Well, binds us to what?! Well, recall the entire purpose of this website - to help you to be rich, wise, healthy, good-looking, holy, to be BALANCED. So what social attachments are going to help us be bound to this balanced lifestyle? Let's proceed with the main concept that arose in Spirit's cabeza: intimacy.

Intimacy

Internationally acclaimed speaker, bestselling author, business consultant and rousing Catholic, Matthew Kelly, once wrote a profound book entitled, The Seven Levels of Intimacy. It was in the introduction or in chapter one where he offers a one word (hyphenated) definition of this complex concept:

SELF-DISCLOSURE.

It is only by binding to a person that we become intimate with them. We must spend time with the other in order for us to reveal our true selves and reciprocally know the other as well. Once we get this and embrace this the rest is cake! And the only question we have to answer is this:

"Who am I going to spend my time with?"

who's in your posse, spirit?

I think a more appropriate questing is:

Who do you allow in your life, Spirit?

These are the folks I roll with:

Guys, there are vast research studies on longevity. To sum them all up, the people that we spend our time is an predictor of our lifespan. So if we hangout with beer-guzzling guys we will not only die early but we will also live out the rest of our lives with severe medical complications.

The other day a patient of mine also arrived and shared an interesting fact. He said (AND I QUOTE): "So doctor, I was hearing this guy on Satellite record and he said, 'You are the average of the top five people you spend the most time with.' This makes sense if you are familiar with the ol' Law of Averages. And it also underscores what all these research studies on longevity.

So guard your associations very carefully, men. Become very selective guys with whom you allow into your Circle of 5 because you will become that person. Will that be a healthy thing!?

"If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights."

-Andy ANdrews, The Travelers gift

Can guys have female friends?

Now that you know the definition of INTIMACY, let's be frank! I'm not saying that guys cannot associate with the opposite sex. It would be foolish to say this! There are boobies everywhere: work, gym, park, grocery store, church, etc. What I am saying is that one must not foster an INTIMATE relationship with one. Steve Harvey says it best:

YAY

• Church friends.
• Dudes only.
• athletic friends.
• Intelligent friends.
• healthy eaters.