How Did You Meet Your Awesome Friend?
“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”
– William Shakespeare
“True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island… to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.”
– Baltasar Gracian
One of the best things that make life worth living is the absolute, undiluted joy of having a real friend/s. My definition of friendship is a relationship between two people that oozes purity, benevolence and is void of judgement and pretense. It is a safe retreat, an inner circle that provides solace, an everyday luxury. Who is that friend that represents all these to you? If you have 1 person that fits this description, count yourself lucky. If you have more than 1, you have won the friendship lottery! For some, their spouses are their bestest/tightest friends and for others, it is their sibling, a mother, an aunt, a former colleague, a childhood neighbour etc.
This post is dedicated to my awesome friend Linda, who turns 40 today. I hung up after speaking to her for close to 2 hours recently and as I usually do every time I talk to her, I thought to myself, what a blessing this woman is. Linda is one of the kindest, open-hearted, funniest, strongest and generous people I know. Her sense of humour is unrivaled and she remains one of the very few people who gets me and has come a long way with me. I live in South Africa and Linda lives in England so we have a long-distance friendship; and after 15 odd years, she remains one of the few special people in my life, showing that long-lasting friendships are not affected by boundaries. Happy Birthday my dearest Linda- I know you are reading this.
I met Linda on my first job after leaving university and one of the first things I noticed about her was her razor-sharp tongue, brazenness, authenticity, candidness, sense of humour and her impeccable sense of style- she is stylish, elegant and always looking great. She is the reason why my short post today came about. How did you met your awesome friend/s?
Let me share the 3 most common ways I have met mine with you.
- Divine providence: This one probably sounds familiar to you. I am minding my life business and this person and I just happened to be in the same place at the same time,and by some divine providence, we are still stuck together even though we don’t live in the same apartment block anymore, or study in the same university anymore, or work in the same place anymore, or make our hair in the same salon anymore, or attend the same church anymore, or drop our kids in the same school anymore or live in the same city anymore or, or, or and more or. You also know it is divine when even though you are worlds apart and see each other through occasional visits, facetime or video calls, you still maintain a deep bond. It is a true case of ‘absence making the heart grow fonder’.
- Casual meetings through other friends: Ever happened that through someone you are close to, you meet someone in their circle of friends and hit it off with that person immediately, so much that currently, you have become closer to that person than you are with your initial first contact friend?
- Pure attraction/chemistry: here’s what I mean. Being fascinated/intrigued plays a big part for me when it comes to friendships. I am that person who, when fascinated by someone either because of the way I’ve observed them carry themselves, because I love their energy or because we have something in common, makes the first move, walks up to them and initiates a conversation. If the feeling is mutual, we start a conversation, follow up on each other, invite ourselves into each other’s worlds and the friendship buds. In this case, the friendship just ‘happens’. Making friends through this way is a vulnerable process but I’ve met some really awesome people through this way.
If you have no clue what I am talking about as in, you’ve never had someone you can call a ‘friend’, a person you can talk to and trust during your life journey, then I am hoping that a divine arrangement will bring that special someone into your life because it is a relationship worth having in one’s lifetime. So in this year, don’t be a stranger, reach out to someone you like and initiate the conversation. You never know, your next buddy for life might just be on the other end, waiting for you to reach out. If the person feels the same way, you may connect and a friendship buds. Life happens in such a way that the companion you need is just a few steps away from you, so don’t close yourself out.
Here’s dedicating Dionne Warwick’s song ‘That’s what friends are for’ to you Linda and to your own tight and long-lasting friends, the ones that keep us smiling and shining, our Day Ones.
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Till we chat again, keep shining, share the blog with your awesome tribe and take care of yourself XOXOXO
Image: Pixabay