Moments with my best mate, Jack Chia, before we forgot what happened completely #GoodTimes
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art….It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
— C. S. Lewis
Most of us have friends, or at least one friend, someone we spend time with, someone who knows us better than others do, someone we can count on when the need arises. It has been said that a friend is a gift that we give ourselves. Yet, how much time do we really spend thinking about those people who matter more to us then all the other people we meet and interact with throughout our life, sometimes including family?
A good friend shows up no matter what. A true friend supports and encourages us, tolerates our shortcomings, accepts us unconditionally, and cares for us no matter what.
And with that said, I have been lucky thus so far with a one or two long lasting, genuine friendship. What makes a friend, a good friend?
From my journey and experience, a good friend is a friend that shows up no matter what. A true friend supports and encourages you, tolerates your shortcomings, accepts you unconditionally, and cares for you no matter what.
A true friend shares our joys and sorrows. The inevitable twists and turns of our lives down the long and winding road that represents our journey is made sweeter and more meaningful by the sharing and caring of a good friend. Rites of passage—marriage, births, death of a friend’s significant other, death of those close to you, or any other important milestone event—are marked and honored together.
Friends can be family. Sometimes our friends are the family we wished we had. Sometimes we have difficulty with our own family. We may feel misunderstood, judged, ridiculed, or even ignored. In that case, our friends often fill in for what is not provided by our own family. In the best case scenario, however, family members can also be good friends.
“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.”
This has occurred to be true more regular than normal because I believe that “One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.”
Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. There comes that mysterious meeting in life when someone acknowledges who we are and what we can be, igniting the circuits of our highest potential.