A friend is someone who brings out the best in you.
—Ralph Waldo EmersonIt’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.
-—Marlene Dietrich
Who can you call on at 4 o’clock in the morning? For me it would be my husband for practical matters–like a trip to the emergency room if that were somehow necessary. We work well as a team.
But for dark nights of the soul, would I call him or anyone else? Not on your life. I’m happy to listen to people if they need it, but for me talking doesn’t work in a situation like that. If I’m feeling deeply lonely, writing in my journal is the one thing guaranteed to help. As a matter of fact, I get lonely when I don’t write about things I care about. That’s why I started blogging.
So even though they’re not people, I would count my journal and my blogs among my best friends. They’re always there when I need them, day or night, and they bring out the best in me.
What about you? Who can you rely on when you need support? When you just want to share the joys of life? They can be people, but they don’t have to be. They can be pets, books, tapes, music, favorite walks, blogging, etc. Whatever form your friends take, friendships do take time if they’re to thrive. And I, personally, think nurturing friendships is one of the most important things I can do in life.
Picture by samdiablo666 via Flickr. Creative Commons license.
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Thanks for linking back to The Personal Development List. I really appreciate it.
Jean
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Take care…
JWM
Hi Jean,
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Great article. The one person I know I can count on in any emergency is my husband. But when things are confused or uncertain, journal writing is very helpful. In the past I have written feelings of great anger and pain on a Word document, only to delete it once I’ve gotten it out of my system. Many times, after I write something down, I realize my fault in it, and/or how I can fix it. This is very soothing.
I don’t keep alot of these type of writings because seeing them later brings up bad memories, but I keep lots of positive emails, letters and card from friends and family, and it cheers me up to remember when others have expressed their love to me. Now I find blogging is a great help, as since mine are dedicated to fun, laughter and happiness, it keeps those things in my mind each day so I can share them with others. :0)
Like you, I’ve got a great spouse that I can count on. I’d put my parents in this category, too. We have a supportive group of friends that we’ve made through our church that we can also count on in emergencies. I’d be hesitant to call them at 4 AM, but know that I could if I really needed to.
I didn’t think of blogging as a ‘friend’ but I am certainly making lots of great contacts this way as well.
This is a wonderful article. I am fortunate to have a great boyfriend, parents and two best friends who I can count on in an emergency, as well as to share joys of life. Also, I rely on blogging (as it is a stress relief for me) and music (singing).