THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

Friendship is delightful, surprising, frustrating, comforting, confounding, disturbing, overwhelming, precious, priceless, and as essential to me as breathing.  My friends connect me to life and support me when I feel lost.  They remind me that I’m fallible and keep me from spinning into selfish narcissism.   They love me when I make mistakes and convince me I am somebody worth knowing.  They teach me how to receive without giving and also to give without receiving. 

There have been moments when I have experienced the illusion of feeling alone and friend-less.  I have consoled myself with a web of fallacies:  ‘you are better off alone; protect your heart from the risk of abandonment or rejection; it’s safer to not care or depend on others.’   This self-imposed ‘hell’ only serves to punish and imprison me.   The cost of this imaginary protection is much, much higher than the risk of connection with others.  Certainly,  more than I am willing to pay.  

So, I have learned the value of lowering my defenses and choosing to trust.  Yes, there are situations when safeguards are warranted, however I can trust myself to set appropriate boundaries when these circumstances surface.

Today I am safe.  I can inhale the wonder of being loved and allow it to nourish and restore me.  I can exhale fear and loneliness.  I can move forward today in gratitude for the connections I will make with others and the moments I will learn to love and be loved.