just had the most marvelous weekend. All three days of it, in fact! So what, you ask, made it so special? Was it the venue, the weather, the food, the company the combination of all those? Or was there more to it than that?

To set the scene: we were staying with good friends at their lake-side cottage. This family of five – a couple and their three children ranging in age from 16 to 27 – might best be described as a close-knit team of absolute individuals. Bright and opinionated, each larger than life itself … and each other!

“One had better be prepared to hold one's own, stand one's ground, or meet them in their reality in order to survive” might be the obvious sentiment. A truism, but equally, a falsehood. Somehow, these folk – and the context in which they evolve - inspire the best in people.

How do they do it? Well…

I felt safe: secure in the knowledge that I would not be ridiculed, demeaned, humiliated or punished for openness and honesty. nor for saying “I don't know” or admitting “I made a mistake.”

I felt accepted: treated with courtesy, listened to…even encouraged to express my own thoughts and feelings, but respected if I chose not to do so.

I felt recognized: acknowledged for my individual talents and achievements, rewarded for my contributions. In fact, the rewards for my successes were far greater than any “penalties” for any apparent failures.

There were challenges: I was challenged to share my principles, ideas, thoughts and feelings. To think faster and better; to explain things … not so much as to defend my case, as to increase everyone's understanding.

There were disagreements, problems to be solved: I was encouraged to solve my own problems, disputes and disagreements in real time. No one came to my rescue …but each supported me in my process in their own special way.

There was feedback: not always pleasing, but invariably constructive, fair and just.

This family is different. They're all bright, they're all opinionated – yet each is compassionate – as aware and caring of others, as of themselves.

In our daily lives we are often asked – even expected - to bring out the best others. We're bright enough to do it. Most of us are opinionated enough - but do we care enough?