True friendships are mortar that bond our lives together, and bricks to hold us up when times get rough… They are the foundation of our joy and the refuge for us in times of sorrow.
After our families our friends are the next group of people who are close to our hearts, and sometimes depending on our families or lack of, our friends make up our family. Nothing can be more fulfilling or frustrating than a great friend, a best friend. Those people who we don’t talk to for months and when the phone rings it’s as though we just saw them yesterday.
True friends are diamonds in a sea of coal. While I try to stay optimistic about the state of the world, it seems like truly good people are becoming harder and harder to find. I’m probably biased but I know my friends would be there, as they have demonstrated, in my darkest times as well as my happiest.
Knowing we have tried and true friends can be as great of a comfort as knowing when we go home from work and our spouse or partner is there waiting for us. There is a safety in trust that can’t be forced, it’s developed though large and small, joyous and terrible life events… great friendships are molten, always changing and forming into something stronger that they were once before.
Being able to pick up the phone and feel, literally feel as though I just saw my best friend yesterday after sometimes months of silence is the result of the process of support and trust only gained through time and life.
I ask you, when was the last time you told your best friend how much they mean to you? When was the last time you told your family, or your spouse or partner? Much like mortar, even the most tried and true friendships need tending to hold up against the weather of life – make sure to tend yours, and your refuge, your support, and your foundation will always stay strong.