The Gift Of Friendship

Good friends enrich our lives in so many ways. Through a magical combination of "like energy" and our unique differences, friends offer us the opportunity to know ourselves as we are and help us grow into who we want to be. Our similarities attract us to each other, comforting us with familiarity (even if it's our garbage) when we see our reflection in them. When we are drawn to those we admire, we are unconsciously acknowledging that these people have qualities that we ourselves possess, or at least...want to. By acting as mirrors, friends help us define who we are by reflecting our selves back to us. They truly show us who we are.

Friends also help us know ourselves through our differences. Differences allow us to see other options and make choices about who we want to be. We sometimes only appear to be drawn to our opposites, and we learn to accept the parts of them we love and the parts of them that don't resonate with us, we then are given a valuable learning experience. By expanding our understanding to include others experiences, friends help us accept others and we can then learn about ourselves. There are times when we see in friends what we don't like about ourselves. That mirror reflection can be hard to look at, but a good friend helps us find ways to shift and they love us for it.

Friendship is the joyous feeling that we are accepted for who we are. It is a gift they give us, we give ourselves, and one we can give back every day. Ultimately, we choose friends because they make us feel good about ourselves and life. Through tears and sometimes challenges, friends assist us in laughing, even if it is at ourselves. When we find those treasured people who offer us that perfect combination of comfort and stimulus to grow, we are very very blessed. Friends walk with us through life, help us define and refine who we are and who we choose to be every day. They are angels that walk among us, and for myself, have shown me love like I have never known before. I am often awed of the company I keep, and honored to think "like-energy" attracts like-energy.