the key to friendship...

Many of my friendships have been encouraged over the course of many meals together, bread broken and drinks sipped so it seems that this is an appropriate topic to delve into. Friendship being the persistent feature in the headline of my mind. I can't seem to get the words of a very close friend of mine out of my head. To me they are profound and offered up insight into a topic that everyone is subject to.

My dear friend was sharing with me that she had just encountered an interesting situation with a couple of people that were putting some wrenches into their relationship and undermining the integrity of their friendship. Essentially they were being caddy and petty. My dear friend

in her infinite wisdom blew them away with her blatant and no frills honesty- and said "I don't need this".."I have great friends- and I don't have to work for it." I left with these words and concepts penetrating my heart and mind. I started doing a mental check on all of my friendships and relationships that I consider the "gold standard" and realized a common thread- the relationships are easy. They take no effort to give to- and the bounty received is equal. Its a constant ebb and flow of sharing, encouragement and uplifting. They are a safe haven where you are taken just as you are. There is time spent to cultivate these friendships but the true test is that it is effortless- you don't even think about what you're doing because its so natural. The benefit to this quality of friendship is that it is stress free. They just work.

If you have any relationships that you feel are a bit dysfunctional in your life maybe start eliminating them or giving less effort to the relationships that require so much of you. From personal experience I can attest you will be fuller and able to give even more. The results and experiences are endless- and these are the friendships of a lifetime.