friendship

Recently, I have been thinking about the idea of friendship and how I want to develop it as an attribute in my life. I added as one of my 43 Things "Be a friend like the ones who have changed my life." Here are my thoughts on that:

I do not forward cheesy e-mails that talk about true friendship and threaten certain death if not sent on within ten minutes. I don’t do “just thinking of you, Friend” greeting cards. I want to be a friend of the caliber of those who have found me in my dark times and helped me identify the light I was seeking.

• I would be a friend like those I have had who made work a joy and sorrow a short affair.
  
• I would be a friend who understands that the welfare of a soul is worth far more than a few extra minutes of sleep or a few extra dollars in the bank.
  
• I would be a friend who does not change people, but liberates them to change themselves for the better.
  
• I would become a friend by accident to hundreds of people one by one – standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for a bus, browsing at the library.
  
• I would be a friend to those who blatantly disagree with me. I would be a friend to those who are too much like me. These may be the same.
  
• I would be a lifelong friend, even if not in the sense of face-to-face contact. I would be the friend that old friends could call after ten years of silence and pick up the conversation as if we had never parted.

This is the friendship I would develop as a portion of my character.