Friends

I recently had a visit from a friend who is very special because she has survived an incredibly difficult childhood.  She has evolved into a very compassionate human being with a warm heart, ability to listen, and the will to reach out to others who are hurting. 

What would life be like without friends?  Friends are are defenders of our sanity, protectors of our reputations, cushions through the fear of new situations, loyal over many years of life crisis, active listeners as we pour out deep emotions, present when we need support, provide shoulders to cry on, are champions of our successes, and models of inspiration. 

I have many friends that I have been privileged to interact with for many years.  I have also met individuals that I met only briefly in my life but the friendship was instantaneous and timeless.  The world is full of potential friends who do not want anything from you except for your friendship. 

I hope that we can all look for all the relationships that are possible among individuals, family, acquaintances, neighbors, fellow parishioners, and co-workers.  Our governments have the opportunity to look for the good people in other cultures, other countries, and in the world in general.  If we all have a goal to make the world safe, peaceful, pristine, beautiful, productive (with jobs, homes, nutrition, health and commerce), collaborative while sharing resources, diplomatic to reduce war, famine, homeless refugees and turmoil, creative while conserving beauty, and friendly with our world neighbors. 

In movies and literature, we are considered a primitive society because we do not trust each other, we have constant wars, we do not protect our environment, we are not reliable stewards of the gifts we have been given, we are not friendly and protect each other's backs.  We are king and queen of manipulation, terror, fear, lack of integrity, unethical standards, intimidation, discrimination, murder, war mongers, death and destruction, pain and suffering and loss of hope.

Friends on the other hand, look out for each other in the pitfalls of life, provide timely and efficient assistance, are lifelong supporters without compensation, are loving, kind, and giving. I hope we can be open to finding friendships among others that we have already met but haven't taken time to know, with new friends we have not yet met, and with ourselves so we know we have a huge opportunity to serve and be served by friends.