Words of a Friend

WAYNE’S WORDS
Volume 4 Number 12
Words of a Friend

As I said in my last blog, I have a dear friend who is going through the most difficult health issue one could ever face – and that is putting it mildly. I have found it somewhat difficult to think of something as trivial as my silly little blog lately. It doesn’t mean much and right now it is so far down on the list of priorities that it is nearly non-existent.

Instead of writing about some nonsense as I usually do, I would like to share some words with you that come from one of my best friends. He has been a source of great strength and help to the family of our dear friend and has also kept our entire circle of friends strong through this hard time.

I always suspected that he had feelings like these inside, but he is not the kind of person who normally vocalizes (or writes) them. He needed to submit something for this week’s Rotary newsletter (he is the President of his club) and anything I would try to write in this blog today would pale in comparison. This is what he wrote:

I apologize for my recent absence; I have been attending an ongoing personal matter. While dealing with this matter, it has really made me think about a few things, some little and some big, but in general - just about things. All the differences we each make and what is important to us. The one thing I thought about a lot is friendship and what a different meaning it has for each of us.

What is friendship? What is the meaning of a relationship? We have often sought answers to these questions, yet we have never come up with an adequate answer. This is because every relationship is an amalgamation of beautiful and complex feelings, which may not often be described in words. Defining a relationship is never easy, as there are so many facets to it. However, we don't need a bunch of words to make us realize the deep meaning of friendship.

According to George Elliot, "Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.” This heartwarming expression captures the essence of friendship. When two people share a strong bond of mutual understanding, respect and love, it lays the foundation stone for an everlasting friendship. This bond just gets stronger with time; the trust between the two people grows and so does the attachment. This is the beauty of the relationship and is the essential meaning of friendship.

Being friends means being there for each other at all times, whether it's good or bad. A friend needs to be very understanding and give each other the benefit of the doubt. Ideally, the meaning of friendship is sharing unconditional love for each other. However, this is not an ideal world; therefore, some form of expectations is allowed, but that has a limit too. The purpose and meaning of friendship is to make life's burdens lighter for our friends and not make them heavier. The Roman thinker Cicero said, "Friendship makes prosperity brighter, while it lightens adversity by sharing its griefs and anxieties.”

Searching for the meaning of friendship has always been a burning question. However, as soon as we meet our friends, all these questions get answered automatically. The answer to what is the meaning of friendship lies within our hearts, because true friendship can only be felt, and not expressed. Something so pure and essential is not always visible to the eye, but is always felt by the heart.

Until Next Time,
Wayne