Friendship

My friend was talking about the nature of friendship.

She felt there were 4 main areas to consider:

1.   Support. Friends are there to support you when times are hard, or the           challenges feel heavy.

2.   You can knock on a friend's door at any time of the day or night and a          bed is made, the kettle on and no questions asked.

3.   You can tell a friend anything and he or she will listen without     judgement.

4.   Your friends will encourage and share your joys and successes.

The item which moves me most is the last.

Is it about being needed? Is it about power? Do we feel more powerful when we can help? Do we feel inferior? Are we jealous? Somehow it seems to be easier to support someone who is struggling, than to give wholehearted support to someone who is full of joy.

There are various expressions in the English language which would seem to confirm this view. 'Pride comes before a fall'. 'For tonight we'll merry be, tomorrow we'll be sober'. 'What goes up must come down'. 'Don't count your chickens before they are hatched'. 'We like to support the underdog'. 'Don't tempt fate'. In the Old World we don't like winners too much and it seems a little gauche to really enjoy your own achievements, let alone those of your friends. The worst offence in my childhood was to be big-headed and I was told that nobody would like me if I was big-headed. What that did to my self-esteem you can only guess.

We know that what we think about grows. Why do we, therefore, spend so much time thinking about things which make us sad, miserable or angry?

It is important to know about the bad things that happen in the world because we may be able to do something; but if we can't do anything about it, it behoves us to let it go and get on with adding to the peace and joy vibes in the universe.

I watch enough news to get a rough picture of what is going on so that I can use my vote or my energy to help, but that works out at about 10 minutes worth, in the morning, once I have got my protection in place.

In my work, I am involved with the human distress of individuals and I hope my involvement sometimes helps. Professionally, I have to be able to put that to one side after work and get on with living my life.

Thereafter, I want to spend my time thinking about love, peace and joy and relish the amazing and wonderful things my friends and family get up to.

Frankie x