Part 7. The Finale.
Wondering what this is all about? Start here.
I asked. You answered.
Question 8: Anything else that you would like to share?
[Insert name] is a great friend.
This exercise, especially questions 6 and 7, gave me pause – made me think. Thank you for that.
Yes.
Regardless of the type of relationship you have you get out what you put in.
Friendships are difficult. time and distance have a way of seeing some friendships lose their closeness. Yet many friends, who I don’t see on a regular basis because of distance, etc. can pick up where they left off immediately because the disruption of the friendship wasn’t based on wounds of differences, but just life. Others dissolve because of differences that went unresolved. Those are the hardest. Unresolved conflict is tough.
[insert name] is a great friend and I appreciate [name].
Question 9: In 10 words or less, what advice would you give to the World about friendships?
Treat a friendship like a romantic relationship and vice versa.
Friends are one the greatest gifts you will receive. They… (sorry there was a 10 word limit.)
(Just Kidding) …provide laughter as well as keep you from wandering off in the desert of life.
Be the friend you want to have.
It’s not a contest.
People always come into your life for a reason, enjoy!
Being willing to be vulnerable when you want to retreat because you are hurt or misunderstood, is well worth it. If that friend truly values you and your friendship, he or she will cover that vulnerability with grace. Your friendship can grow stronger in spite of the struggle. Way more than 10 words. Lol.
I’m breaking the rules and combining 8 and 9.
I don’t have any advice, but I will share a wish. When I think about my friendships, it occurs to me that most (if not all) of them are largely based on convenience. It’s convenient because we live near each other, or because we work together, or because we’re in class together, etc. If that convenient variable were removed, I don’t know what would happen to those relationships. Would they make the effort to maintain them? Would I? I know that feeling like a friend-when-convenient is pretty sad; I’ve felt that way, and I’m sure I’ve made others feel that way too. I wonder if this is just the way it is with the friendships we have in adulthood?
If so, my wish is that we could find a way to do better than that. I wish that friendships were a higher priority, despite all of other things competing for our time and energy. I wish we valued them more. I wish that we’d protect them, and fight for them. I wish we’d be more willing to do the work to sustain them, even when it’s not convenient. Especially then.
Ten words: Food and friendship enhance each other.
Thank you again for all of you who answered and shared this post with others. Keep sharing, keep answering, and most of all keep questioning.
What’s next? My turn.
Carl Weber Consulting 