One of life’s greatest gifts is the gift of friendship. As we travel through our journey, people come in and out of our lives at different intervals. Some are there for a just fleeting moment, some come for a short period of time and others are there for a lifetime. The latter ones are the people that we truly have a responsibility to take care of and nourish.

When you think about the amount of people that any one individual has to choose from to become a close friend, the fact that they have chosen us is quite an honor.  Likewise for those that we choose. The question is, are we willing to devote the time and energy to ensuring that the the efforts put into the friendships are equal.

People often say that friendships and relationships are work. In reality, they shouldn’t be. If you are having to work very hard at keeping a friendship alive then it is probably a good time to look at whether or not the effort you are putting in to the friendship is worth the benefit the you are receiving from it.

I am very fortunate.  Most of my close friends have been friends of mine for 20 years or more. In fact, I have friends that are more close to 35 years. Some live near and some are in other states or overseas. We may go months without talking, yet every time we are together the time we spend is quality time. It is as if there had been no time lapse at all. We do not ask more of each other than we know we can give. The relationships do not give us angst, they give us delight.  That is how friendships should be.

There are people who have to have many people around all the time. The risk of that is that you stretch yourself so thin that it is unlikely that you could devote any time to building a true lasting friendship. That works for some people, but I suspect in the long run it isn’t nearly as satisfying.

It is always good to periodically check in our your friendships and let those that are close to you know that you care. They should equally be doing the same. Sometimes it is just the thing that you need to make your day. In fact, it is often just what you need to put a little pep in your step.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles today.

Ron

NOTE:  Friday, Monday and Tuesday I will be unable to write so I will be posting some of my previous favorite posts. Look for a new post on Wednesday next week.