Keep Your Friends Close

I saw a couple of old friends last night. In my business you meet people and then over the years you get to see them from time to time at different events  and you catch up as life moves along. 

One of them I worked with twenty years ago and every time we see each other we just pick right up talking and laughing about the same things. He is just  one of those people who the instant I see him we start laughing and recalling old stories and making new ones.

The other friend is someone I hired years back who never quite got comfortable in his role and eventually moved on to other opportunities. I usually see him around once a year and its always pleasant and cordial. We used to be closer but I just always thought he just grew away.

Finally, last night as I was walking into the dinner I was attending (extremely late),  someone said John is here and wanted to see you. I thought to myself it would be good to see him. Upon greeting him, he said to me, "I always thought you were mad at me for leaving!" It was obvious he had labored over this for a long time.  I said, "John, I don't hold grudges, especially for people that I care about and you are one of them!" I grabbed him and hugged him and in just an instant I could tell that he felt much better. We talked for a while, he went on to his group and me to mine... but something had changed and we both knew it.

The point I am making is that friendship is precious and we should guard it as such! When I see my one friend I am always running to maintain that relationship! He and I require the nurturing of a long and celebrated friendship.  On the other hand, we have to be vigilant about all of our relationships and make sure none of them fall into disrepair. After all this time with my other friend , it just took a few words to mend brokenness that had existed just below the surface for years. I am glad we were able to make it happen, even though I didn't know it was in need of repair!

Serve as a good lesson to keep our friends closer, even when we don't know they have drifted away from us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Doctor visits

I went to the doctor today...upper respiratory infection with a side of sinusitis! At least that is what I was told! Isn't that how it works with doctors? We wait in the "waiting" room and then are herded into some triage area for them to add to the bill with temperature, weight, and blood pressure checks! I am thinking maybe to fore go all the perfunctory "padding of the bill" and get to making me feel better! But instead, I get to read the equivalent of War and Peace in out dated magazines as I am attempting to tune out what is surely the spawn of Satan while hoping that the noxious chemical smell causes me to pass out so that time will pass more quickly. I am certain that all 26 of the people who work in the office have some role that keeps them busy, other than, of course, caring for the patients! I have learned how to cook chili, paint cars, and cheat on taxes all from the other side of those smoky glass windows of the "Reception Office." Al...
Read more

Conscientious or contentious...

I have been thinking about the difference between being conscientious and contentious. One means to be thoughtful about doing something the right way, while the other means to be argumentative. They are not opposites directly, but in a more figurative way they can be. I have long considered myself to be conscientious; seeking to think, speak, and act rightly. My thought has been that it is just as easy to get along as it is to create trouble or to engage in exacerbating it! While at the same time, I tend to be head strong and resolute about things of consequence to me, and often labor arduously over my position. In other words, I can be argumentative... contentious. Ironic as it is, I have the propensity to be both. I am both! Now comes the hard part; finding the balance. We should always be considerate and thoughtful, working to live out a higher purpose in our lives. And, it's okay to be passionate about what we feel and think. However,  we have to be cautious to not be comba...
Read more