The Friendship Factor

This morning, I was up relatively early (compared to the usual) and continued with Jul 08 issue of Vanilla. The theme this month is on friendship and happiness. I'll start my thoughts on friendship first.

People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. But what each leaves behind is an indelible mark that forever changes us.

People walk in and out of our lives. Some touch it for a moment and are gone. Some stay for a while, and teaches us precious lessons about living and loving, then they too quietly fade from our day-to-day. And then, there are the relationships that we know will last a lifetime. The influence of these people permeates every facet of our lives, and the lessons we learn from them we apply to every other relationship in our lives.

Friends are people who bring out the best in us, who are our safety nets when we fall, our cave of solace when we need to retreat from the world for a while, our ticket to new adventures, and our doors to worlds beyond our own.

To those who knows me well - I cherish true friendship. Friendship is important to me. So important I am not just friends with anyone. Any other people not classified as friends fall into the acquaintances category. Basically, acquaintances are people I know, on a skin-deep level. Only real friends have the privileged capability of upsetting me - and that's because I care. I make it a point to remember their birthdays, the things they like, their dreams, their happiness, their sorrows, their fears, their secrets - as long as they are willing to share with me.

I think I'm an open book. It's not that difficult to know me. I'm pretty expressive - I don't hide my feelings too much (although there are some I do). I like to exchange perspectives. This blog captures most of my perspectives, feelings and thoughts - that is, if you take time to read. When I'm upset or restless, it's easy to tell - I become a quieter person. I prefer not to kick a fuss. So the easiest way is to ignore.

From time to time, I strike certain friends off the list. Why? Because I feel they are no longer worthy of my true affection and concern. In a true friendship, we are free to have our own opinions (and never impose) - we do not have to agree on everything and like the same things, we respect each other's individuality, we are not afraid to show our weaknesses and display our strengths, we are honest in pointing out what we feel is not good for each other, we encourage each other to go for our dreams, we remind each other that it is no big deal to fail, it is ok to cry, we want each other to be happy, and we find time for each other - we make it a point to stay connected (distance is not an excuse).

This is also why it is vital that the soulmate I'm still waiting for, should also be my best friend. And this best friend, is forever. =)

A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails. - Donna Roberts