October 2, 2002
Friends
According to the dictionary, the word friend has more than one meaning. It can mean 'for whom one has warm regard or affection' or simply; 'one with whom one is on speaking terms.' For me, defining a friendship is not that simple.; A friend can be someone that you have warm regard or affection for but have not spoken with in a long time.; This is someone that you often think about, respect their opinion and cherish the times that you are able to connect. The amount of time you spend with someone should not be a measurement of the closeness that relationship has.; Some of my closest friendships are with people I am not able to spend a lot of time with, but we are always able to pick up right where we left off.; This is what is special about those relationships.; That and the fact that you know the person is always there if you need them.;
Sometimes, in order to keep a friendship you must take a friendship sabbatical.; Have you ever heard of a friendship sabbatical?; It comes in handy at times when; you just don't know how to fix what is wrong, aren't interested in fixing it at the time or you just need a break to freshen things up.; These can either be healthy or detrimental to a friendship. Often you will not even be aware or conscious of this break until the friendship returns and you must keep in mind that taking a break can be a gamble and the connection may be permanently lost.
A friendship sabbatical occurs when the relationship experiences a break or pause for a period of time.; It could happen overnight or it could be a slow distancing.; A strong friendship (if it is meant to be) will survive one of these breaks and a weak or superficial one will not.; The reasons for these friendship breaks are varied and are not what is really important. What is important is that the friendship is able to be saved and improved.Friends are important and I think that sometimes we don't realize this until it is too late.; I am hoping that it is not too late...