Friends

Okay, this is a tough subect, even though on the surface it seems pretty straightforword. Friends can have a unique place in our lives, but sometimes not a good place. However, the right friend can have a very special place, something that is irreplacecable. The irony is that we don't always know the difference; when is a friend special, and when is a friend a liability?

Oh, I know, friends are those special people that make our lives meaningful. In spirit I agree with that, but not always in practice, for sometimes a "friend" is a sheep in wolf's clothing. So how should we value our friends?

Let's start with a very important point. I believe strongly that family has a very special relationship. Family is that tie to other people who supercede any form of emotion. My brother is my brother, my mother is my mother, no matter how I feel. There is something extremely special about family. I love my family.

Friends are different, and in some cases, friends can make you vulnerable. But in many cases they can make you strong. A friend is completely inverse to family; family is who family is; no choice, no decision, no selection. It's what makes them special and unique. Conversely, a friend is who you select; someone you choose as special, someone whose company you enjoy for no definable reason. A person who allows you to be who you are.

Family is extremely important to all of us, like it or not. But friends are equally important to us in different ways. I have been blessed in my life with a good and strong family. But, unfiortunately, that isn't always enough for me to talk through all my dilemas, to work through all my worries and problems. Family is special, very special. But I know people who are simply "friends" that have a huge influence on my life. They may have their own lives, live in other states, and not even directly interact with my life, but they are still an extremely important part of who I am or what I will become.

My friends, my true friends, are not just a group of people I happen to know, they are absolutely a part of me. They define who I am. I love my friends, and I miss my friends that I cannot see on a regular basis. If my friends are true, I am a lesser man for not being with them more.