The real power of real friendship.

   There are times in our lives when we feel utterly hopeless. Like the world hates us and there's nothing we can do to keep from crying until there's not a drop of water left in our bodies. It's at times like this when having friends is really a relief. Now, society has somehow perverted the true meaning of friendship and reduced the standards by which you can call someone a friend. very few people understand that nowadays. A friend is not someone who just goes to school with you that you hang out with sometimes. A friend, a true friend is someone who is there for you when you're in need. Now, that isn't to say that you have to constantly spend time with someone to call them a friend. I've seen my friends only once in the past 3 years, due to circumstances beyond my control. Despite that however, They are people who would, and have in the the past helped me in times of need without hesitation. At one point a very good friend of mine lost contact with me due to getting a new phone. after realizing he hadn't heard from me in a while he worked tirelessly to recover my number to make sure I was alright. Now of this, I can only say I wish I had been a slightly better friend and tried harder to contact him first. But at that point in my life I was used to people casting me aside and being abandoned. So I figured this was yet again the case. After that incident I never doubted him again, and never will. He is, and will always be one of my best friends. More like a brother really. He has helped me and my sisters when we were alone and without food or money. Offered me a place to stay when I needed to get away for a while, whether it was convenient for him or not. That is the kind of thing a true friend does.

  Too many people call each other friends, when short of the occasional outing there is nothing between them. A friendship is not a social status. Its love, a unique kind of love that is not inborn nor is it necessarily sparked by any sort of initial attraction as is the case in romantic love. In a love between relatives there is a sort of obligatory love that takes root even if you don't even know someone. With a romantic partner there are obviously hormones and other factors at play. But with a true, deep friendship there is no such obligation, no outside factors. There is merely a closeness of the soul that blooms into the beautiful flower of true friendship. Keep your mind open, because I don't use the analogy of a flower merely to sound sappy and poetic. But a friendship is much like a flower, It has to have healthy soil, it has to be nourished and allowed to see the light. Only then will it bloom brightly and beautifully, It cant be neglected because thats how friendships die, the same as with flowers. Once it blooms though it truly is something beautiful to be admired. Because many people give up before they ever get to that point. Friendships, like any plant however, grow at different rates, and you can speed up the process depending on how well you nourish and care for it. I should be so lucky to have the small garden I do. I don't have many true friends, but the ones I have I would absolutely lay my life on the line for. They are friends that I wish everybody could have. If there is a heaven it wouldn't be so for me without them. But I think people are afraid of that level of friendship. Afraid to open their hearts and let their deepest fears and emotions be known. Many people cant even be honest with themselves, much less with someone else. When you think about it though, We're all related, whether you believe in God, the teachings of Buddha or in the merit of science makes no difference. We all share DNA and we all are united in the human spirit. Our own fear of our feelings and irrational hatred are all that stands in our way. we may not all think the same way, or believe the same things. But often the deepest of friendships grow on the smallest of commonalities, and the differences are worked out from there. Why cant everyone do that? Im sure we all have more in common with our enemies than you could possibly imagine. If we cast aside our differences Im sure we could find common ground with anyone. if nothing else than just in the experience of being human.

  Friendship, is a very powerful thing. It's not just a powerful medicine. but in our darkest moments it greatly prolongs the will to live. I maintain that its what makes life worth living. It is a very pure form of love, with no obligation and no selfish motives. Only the desire to be close to someone for no other reason than to be there for them and to have someone to be there for you. to bring more joy in your life and to soften the hard landings. A true friend can mean more to a person than any amount of outside happiness in the world. Id rather die on the streets than live like a king without my friends. You can fool your heart into loving an obscure cousin you've never met, and you can be blinded by passion in romance. But friendship truly is all up to you. There are no excuses, and you don't get to have it without putting yourself in another's shoes, to try and understand them. It is by its very nature, selfless and beautiful. It isn't like the love between mother and child. Friendships are delicate. they die all too often, usually through neglect or sabotage. But when two people become the best of friends and stay that way all their lives. there's nothing more rewarding. more powerful or more beautiful in the world than that.