Find the time to sit down at the table of life with positive people: Seek out those who bring sunshine into your existence; engage individuals who make you smile; build strong and lasting friendships with people who understand the meaning of love, respect, integrity, support, encouragement and kindness.
How many true friends can you count in your life? How many have you had during your life? You know the people I mean. Those you share a joke with: You laugh and cry with. The people you share your innermost secrets with: Those who support and encourage you.
How often have you needed to rely on someone and found them standing beside you, through all kinds of trouble? Alternatively, how many times have you needed someone to talk to and suddenly found them wanting? Have you reached out, only to find the doors closed or the phone unanswered?
If you are anything like me, there have been difficult times in your life when you really have needed the support of friends to get you through. It’s generally when you’re in trouble, you find out who your true friends really are. You may find that those who are with you during the good times are not always the same people who are standing beside you during the dark periods.
Whether you know it or not, there are different levels of friendship. We all have acquaintances. These people are found in the neighborhood, the workplace, on the sporting field, at the shopping center or on public transport. These are the people we nod to and smile at. We share niceties with them but not our secrets. We don’t discuss the issues in our lives—our triumphs and tragedies—with them.
Then there are the people with whom we socialize. We share a laugh and sometimes a tear. We talk about our spouses and children. We talk about the events in our lives. They know what makes us laugh and what brings us sadness.
Real friendship has a true healing power. When you know you have people on whom you can rely, it makes life so much easier.
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Real friendship has a true healing power. When you know you have people on whom you can rely, it makes life so much easier. When you can talk to someone about your problems and gain some strong support through plausible solutions to issues, it takes a great deal of pressure off.
True friendship should never be taken lightly and never taken for granted, because it remains incumbent on many things. They include, love, respect, support encouragement, trust, faith, generosity, compassion, understanding and tolerance. You also often need a good sense of humor.
I have no doubt there are people in your life who call themselves ‘friends.’ However, when you truly need support, are those same people at your door, offering the assistance you need?
Are these people supportive of you? Do they truly know you and in spite of your failings, are they still in your life? Likewise, are you supportive of the friends in your life? Do you support them, just as they are at your side? Do you pay them the same regard?
Friendships can be as strong as family bonds when they are nurtured. Never take your friends for granted. Give them the respect they deserve and accept them for who they are just as they have done for you.
Sadly, none of us is perfect. That means we all have flaws and when your friends accept you unconditionally, it’s important you have the same regard for them. Perhaps it’s time to examine the friendships in your life.
Imagine the possibilities …
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock