Friends

Recently, a good friend of mine, had an unfortunate incident occur which really tested her relationship with one of her very best and oldest friends. In an effort not to fully disclose the details of the event, I will just say that my good friend (let's call her Jill for the sake of clarity) really needed her friend (referred to as Mary) to step in and prevent her from making a horrible mistake. Instead, Mary didn't help Jill who was in dire need of help, and Jill made a life-changing, devastating mistake...

Jill is very upset because she felt as her friend should have been there for her, but wasn't. When she called to ask me how I felt about the situation, I told her that I do believe that friends have a responsility to one another. The trick is being clear on exactly what these responsibilities entail.

I have had many friends in my lifetime. I have also had many good, good friends, or BFF's as they are referred to these days. My responsiblity to them was, is, and will always be to always have their best interest in mind. There is self-sacrifice involved with a true friendship. You find yourself caring for another person wholeheartedly. In true friendship, the sacrifice you make often go unnoticed, for that is just a part of the friendship, right?

When I was married (I have been divorced for about 6 or 7 years...I can never remember to be fully honest) my husband and I had friends. Some of them I lost in the settlement; I guess they found it too difficult to be Switzerland between two factors that were definitley in all-out war at the time. That really hurt me because I loved them and I thought we were to be friends for the long-haul. It was during this time that I realized that in order to see where someone is coming from, you have to know what your friendship means to them. They didn't see me as a lifelong friend...just a temporary one, or a friend as long as I was married...I really can't say...

What I can say is that I continue to have many friends and these relationships mean many different things to me. I am thankful for my social circle. I have learned that my friends are not all perfect, have individual skill sets, and can always be expected to be themselves.

I'm not sure where I'm going with all of this, and I had hope to provide some type of profound conclusion, but I can't, so I will just end it here...

I'm working on a blog called "Discovery and Recovery"...look for it soon.

Peace and Balance,

SherondaRae