Considering the Gift of Friendship

Recently I have been thinking about some of the many wonderful people who have come into my life through the years and many relocations.  It was always difficult to pull up roots and move.  Most times it was not my choice, so I resigned myself to leaving people behind.  In fact, this inevitable "moving on" made me reluctant to put forth the effort to get to really know people, or to allow them to really know me.

I was unable to keep in touch with my childhood friends.  Likewise some adult friendships have also faded with time.  This is sad, but true.

I guess an offshoot of "Out of sight, out of mind" was, for me, the unconscious assumption that people would forget about me, or not care any more when I moved away.  I call it the "Eeyore complex" referencing Winnie The Pooh's sanguine donkey friend.  

On a farm in Tennessee...

However, there are a few who have stayed connected, which has been a special blessing.  And happily, after time and separation, some relationships have recently been renewed.  I have also made new acquaintances through the Mail Art exchanges.  It is so much fun receiving art made made by people who want to share it with me!

How does one place a value upon friendship?  It is priceless!  As someone has said, "They know all (or at least a lot) about me and still love me."

I doubt that I can say anything profound about friendship that has not already been said.

Better than a bowl of cherries!


Or like a butterfly in the wild, free to alight, or not, at its own choosing- leaving the observer with a sense of awe and delight.


I hope those people in my life for whom I feel affection, those who are encouragers, those who appreciate and accept me for who I am, the ones who lift my spirits and make my heart smile--- I do hope they know that I count them as precious.  I  am so thankful for the enduring gift of their friendship.  My wish is to be as good a friend to each of them.

How much richer, indeed, is life when kind hearts find each other.