Rambling About Friendships

Life is too short to lose friendships. I choose to let stuff roll off my back so my connections can continue. However I do have my limits like everyone else. I am not easily offended personally. However there are things I care deeply about that are sacred and personal. Sometimes I feel I am not worthy to have some of the friendships I have. Know I will be your friend if you will be mine. 

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Friendships

The thing about life is there are new things and people along the way to help you along. Friendship is fluid these days. I am a little cynical when it comes to life-long friendships because I don’t have many that I would consider a full part of my life now. People come and go, change is ever present and we all have lives that carry us to interesting places.

Online Friendships

I am not sure what the real shelf-life of a online friendship is. Perhaps its as long as what is invest into it. I have friends that I met on another blogging site that I have known for about 5 years and that seems like a long time these days.Some friends, online and offline are there for a reason and a season.

Often online friendships make the transition to reality when like-minded folks meet in-person. That is always exciting and you hope you can be as good of friends away from your Internet connection.

So when a relationship wanes there is sadness but the thing about life is that new people can come into your life. Online it seems to be a matter of being friended or followed. We all have a need for companionship in all parts of life. 

Friendships

Life brings us all sorts of people in our lives. Some are with you for decades and others for just a matter of days. Friendships are so fluid today. Sometimes our friendships can inspire us and lift us up while others bring us down. Old friends can be great but new friends can challenge you to do something different and renew your spirit.

There aren’t a lot of people I hang out with from when I was a teenager. Relationships can rotate throughout your life and that’s OK. People have lives that take them from place to place and you make connections where you are. Don’t be afraid to meet new people, they might be some of the best people you will ever meet.

Connections

It’s amazing the connections we make with people who we never thought we would become friends with. Some folks surprise you when they want to be your pal. Those connections reveal the depth of our hearts and souls that we look past appearances into something greater. Friendships are a vital part of our world and we all need them. It is through our friendships that we learn more about ourselves. We need to be wary that we see ourselves poorly when others reject us though. Each of us are valuable people and its great when others see it and sometimes let us know that value. Connections are cool!

The Need For Real Connections

Many of us have hundreds if not thousands of connections on Tumblr, Blogging, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. I ask when was the last time we made connections for real like having coffee or having a meal together. I am guilty of not meeting with people in person more too.

There are times when its just more convenient and safer to connect online. However we have lost some of the skills needed in other parts of life when we just leave it up to technology and social networking to make connections possible. Granted many of our friends live in other places so the only time we can visit is online.

It could be that we are too busy or we say we are too busy so we don’t have to actually make an effort. There is something to be said for a front porch of a house where neighbors will congregate to enjoy company and all that goes with it like food, drink and music.

People need real people, don’t you think?

Commentary on Relationships

Everybody needs somebody, somebody like you so sings rock singer Bryan Adams. Relationships are a part of our human existence. There are dozens of songs, poems and the like about the subject. Our lives are made better by having people in them. However it can be tricky.

Author and pastor Rev. Shane Stanford has this interesting take on the subject of relationships that makes sense to me. We dread being alone so we make friends. We dread being hurt so we don’t make friends. We dread being betrayed, so we don’t let our real selves show. We dread loss so we choose not to love.

Rev. Stanford in this case is referring to how Jesus got to know us so well and got to the things we fear most. In this case its about relationships. In his Earthly life Jesus relied on the kindness of others because he didn’t have many material resources he called his own. In a way we all rely upon the kindness of others in our relationships.

You can tell how a relationship is going often times by reading someones blog post or Facebook status. Our relationships with others are a balancing act of give and take. Healthy relationships take a lot of work and requires some sacrifices and a lot of understanding. How we were raised in part can set the example of how we treat people. Bad relationships can either influence more bad relationships or perhaps turn it around and help people know how not to treat others.

We all want close friendships like you see on TV, you know the types where a group of people are very tight with each other. Also there are relationships that are fractured for one reason or another.

Your closest relationships will change over time. Life has a way of doing strange things that cause us to have to change ourselves. It’s very rare when you see a life-long friendship that has endured time and space. Our lives have us on the move more than ever and a friend today might be a memory tomorrow. Friends come for a reason and sometimes a season. Relationships come and go but being there in the moment is always a courageous thing to do. Your relationships can help form an individual as they go through life. Never be afraid to love, it is worth it. Life is too short to be lonely.

We all start as strangers…very profound. Friendships start with hello my name is…

How Much Friendship Is Too Much

Friendships are a tricky thing. Some relationships are built on a foundation of spending time with one another and constant contact. However finding the balance of how much you contact your friend and giving them space can be only achieved by communication.

When I get a new friend, especially when they are in my mind cooler than I am I feel like I can be a bit overwhelming, like a Labrador. I am hyper friendly and some folks don’t know how to take that. There have been friendships I have had that in my mind I am the only friend that person has and I have been a little jealous of their other friendships.

I am a extrovert and that can be a good thing, however when it comes to some people who are more introverted that can be too much. I fear that I have run some people off because of my brand of friendliness.

My hope is that people will call me on it. I want friendships for the long haul and I never want to overstay my welcome or become annoying.

Friendship, A Part Of Our Lives

Friendship is a part of life that is special. We all need people to go through life with to share those once and a lifetime experiences. Caring about people is part of our humanity.

A fellow blogger and I were having a Twitter conversation about friendship the other day and it seems that the concept is very fluid. Friendship groups seem to change a lot these days. It is rare to keep a long-term friendship group. We are more mobile and our friends change from time to time.

Social media has helped us maintain friendships and that can be a blessing and a curse. In my case a group of people I went to church with when we lived in Murfreesboro, TN stay in touch thanks to Facebook. High school friendships have been renewed because of social networking. 

Unfortunately friendships these days seem to have a shelf life and people come into your life for a season. Its something I have had to learn kind of the hard way. Some relationships end because of ego, self-centeredness and other factors. Drama seems to fracture friendships easily these days. People don’t want to be taken advantage of either in their connections with others. 

For many people they go through life without meaningful friendships because of one reason or another. Those people need people too. I think our self esteem can be a huge factor in how we perceive ourselves and what we think about other people. I like what Jim Morrison says “A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.”

Elbert Hubbard once said “A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” Time and love are the important building blocks of friendship and you have to make yourself available to be a friend. Sometimes that means years and decades while other times it means days and months. 

Cherish your friendships. In some ways they become a part of your family or they become a substitute for family.