Friendship: One Soul in Two Bodies

It has already been a good New Year.  The first week of the year is something I treat with a degree of respect that doesn't often get replicated too closely for the fifty one that follow.  It is, I think, often very telling whom it is that I choose to spend recreation time with. Recreation is, I feel, something to be taken very seriously.  I often ask clients at the beginning of our work together what it is that they most enjoy doing.  I even have a question on the intake form that every new client completes at the commencement of therapy - I ask them to describe what their perfect day would look like, what shape it would take, where they would be, what they would do, and whom they'd most like to spend it with...  How we spend time that we might truly call our own is, I think, very important in determining who we are, and how we feel.

This week has been something of a gift.  I have spent time with friends and family.  People who are important to me.  Precious individuals.  The people without which I wouldn't be who, what or where I am today. I am in debt to these souls, who have together given me, and continue to give me, more than they will ever know. Friendship is something that fascinates me.  I don't claim to be an expert, but I am an enthusiastic novice, blessed with some very dear friends who have shown me what it is to be alive, have supported me to find my authentic self, and given me the courage to be true to her.  

Earlier this week I celebrated my birthday.  I didn't just notice it - I celebrated.  In style, and in excellent company.  I was privileged to be surrounded by those people I count amongst my closest friends many of whom have walked alongside me (and crawled, when I've needed to take it slowly).  See, I subscribe to the idea that you don't need plenty of friends, but you need a few good-enough friends.  I aspire always to be a good-enough friend.          

Those special individuals I feel privileged to count amongst my friends are both resilient and reliable.  I know where I stand.  They have boundaries, and let me know when I've stepped out of line, or dropped the ball.  They know their truth, and aren't afraid to speak it.  I admire them.  I respect them.  I love them.  We do not necessarily have regular opportunities to see one another, but we know where to find each other should we need to reach out.  Time spent together is always special.  It is where memories are made, and something deepens between us as a friendship touches both individuals, leaving each of us subtly, but undeniably changed.  Friends challenge me.  It is with my friends, and with their support, that I have grown.