on the corner ... for my friend who is going to stay for a few days, to arrive from Melbourne. I am so looking forward to our late night esoteric conversations and guaranteed laughs.
The Lebanese philosopher and poet, Kahlil Gibran wrote the following in reference to friendship:
"Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When you friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay".
And when he is silent you hearts ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth, and only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds it morning and is refreshed."
I find this to be a wonderful description of a meaningful friendship. I also think that it is rare to find such friendships where in each other's company you are comfortable to express the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, to share and build ideas and even disagree with mutual understanding. However it is within those kind of relationships that we are able to enrich our own souls and experiences of the world.
In Julie Beck's article "How friendships change over time in adulthood", she mentions that in the hierarchy of relationships friendships generally fall to the bottom of the priority list because the voluntary nature of friendship makes it subject to life’s whims in a way more formal relationships aren’t. We have all heard or even uttered the phrase "We must catch up soon", yet surveys and research show that friendships are essential to our wellbeing and deeply influence our personal development and potentially more than the formal relationships.
Flying Solo Tip 089365 : It is the quality, not the quantity of friendships, in our lives that benefits our personal wellbeing.