On Friendship

I'm sure I could look up a great quote about friendship, but I'm not going to.

Anyone who knows me could tell you I am an emotional person. I connect with people, and love very easily and intensely. I can't speak for any of you, but 'out of sight out of mind' has never been the case for me. There are so many people I haven't seen in years that I think about everyday. We all must do this on some level as we "follow" each other on social media - while in reality only actually communicating with very few people.

Sometimes I think others must feel the same way, and I will write to a friend I haven't spoken with in a long time; 9/10 times I never get a reply. I understand. I have had messages sent to me that I read and don't respond to right away and before you know it you come across it days later, feel like an ass and never write back.

Or maybe ya just don't want to talk to me. Occam's Razor, right? Either way, the point is we don't communicate anymore.  What would we really talk about anyway? Life has dragged us so far apart, we may even seem like different people now. That's reality.

When we were kids were thought our friends were going to be there for the rest of our lives. Maybe that is the hunter-gatherers in us. Relationships get shorter and more varied, but we still have this idea they are supposed to stick. We get attached. This leads to loneliness and longing. Maybe it is part of why so many people seem so sad.

I choose to operate with a different philosophy. Friends come into our lives unexpectedly to enrich our spirit and leave us with a feeling of love. This kind of mind-shift changes those feelings of "missing" to feelings of cherishing and love. So don't get attached to your old friends, just cherish the times you shared whenever they cross your mind. And seek out new friends! I often will go out for a day and my only plan is to be open to whomever I encounter. It is actually really fun and you have some pretty great conversations. More to cherish! This is how you enrich your life.

Lastly, to all of my friends -

Whether we met in Sunday school, elementary school, middle or high school, at college, through work, travel, mutual friends, community plays or sitting on a lawn - I cherish you everyday, and I look forward to the day we cross paths again. Until then, I am watching you on Facebook and wishing you the best Life has to give. ;)

Marci
~With LOVE!