Cave of Wonders: On Friendship

Friendship might be the greatest gift ever given to a person.

Family will stand by you no matter what. Because family comes from blood and there’s a sense of responsability that binds them. When everything else fails, family is there for you. Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

But friendship, it’s a gift that is given to a stranger. It holds a simple and yet deep meaning. To be a friend, means to trust, to know, to accept. It is a bond that ties the souls of many. It's what drives a person to do wonderful and insane things. And just like the person, every friendship is different.

A friend is the one that looks at you, and with just a glance, you know what they are thinking. It's the person that knows you so well that you can share an easy silence with no pressure or expectation, with whom you can be silly and feel no shame. It is that one person that tells you when you are making a mistake, the one that feels pain when you are hurt, the one that is there to pick up the pieces. The person that expects the same from you, and that will listen no matter what.

That's the friend we all should aspire to be.

Both men and women see friendships in different ways. There are a certain set of rules, a code, that each has to respect. These are the things that change and help a friendship evolve, but sometimes, it also can kill a friendship. A moral code is something that is not be fluid. So we find that what one person might believe is not necessarily the same as to what a friend holds in regard. And it is here where a friendship might break. Where people that once laughed and cried together, now scream and turn cold towards each other.

Friendship can be made of steel or be as frail as a flower. It takes a second to sow the seed, but it takes a lifetime to help it sprout and grow. And a flower can grow bitter, turn to weed and choke you with it's vines. At times, we find that instead of flowers, we were growing poison ivy.

So treasure your friends. Love them with all your heart, because you don’t know when they might be gone. You don’t know when life will take a turn and open roads that might take you away from them.

But also remember to love yourself first and foremost. Because some friends might not be the kind you need. And friendship, sadly, tends to blind us.

We are lonely creatures, we seek approval, affection and understanding. And sometimes we are willing to let many things slide for the sake of a friendship that makes us feel whole.

So treasure the friends you have. Love yourself. And learn to accept that not every friend you might make along the way, might be the best for you.