Among the encouragements of ongoing spiritual growth is that the great teachers--for instance, Thomas Merton in this episode--tell us that all that growth has every chance of making our relationships better than they've ever been. Dave Schmelzer will talk both about contemplative and folk wisdom about keeping your most important relationships strong and growing. Mentioned on this podcast: New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton Romans 12:18 The Odd Couple Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Hatton and Sheila Heen