What Friendship Means

 

 

 

Seems to me the causes of social problems, from Facebook bullying, to divorce and obesity, and everything in between are often thought to be based on stress, or poverty or unhappiness.  But a big part of me feels we are overlooking something very important:  friendships.  I feel like our society is ignoring the importance of friendship.  After a great road trip with my BFF Lynn, I came home to the busyness of life and got all caught up in what needed to be done and the things I should be doing, and started to feel isolated but soon realized how important true friends are, especially in times of misfortune - they are our refuge.

 

Friendships are vital for wellbeing, but they take time and can't be artificially created.  But, it is "time "society claims we don't have. We are too busy for our friends, it is no wonder they are at risk of being neglected.  Nevertheless, I believe we are all aware of the value of friendship, because surprisingly, we are often most like our friends ourselves.   Studies show, if your best friend eats healthy, you are more likely to eat healthy yourself. Married people say friendship is more than five times as important as physical intimacy within marriage.  Those who say, they have no real friends at work, have a "best friend", at work - because when employees find friends at work they feel more connected to their jobs.

 

I believe friendship comes from living a good life, strong  personal values, such as honesty, character and passion. Our culture, for all its benefits, tends to focus more on commerce and taking the magic bullet rather than to help us live a good life.  A friend to me is a person with whom I can be myself and most sincere.  A close friend is a mirror of our own self, someone you realize that you are not alone. Friendship cultivates virtues, such as creativity, and compassion which by the way are essential to a society that flourishes.  If we can't cultivate friendship, we can't lift the burden of our apparently unhappy isolated selves.

 

You know the ones that make you feel the most YOU. The ones that lift YOU up and help you remember who YOU really are! They are the ones that even if you don't see them face to face you feel them heart to heart.