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Today's
Meditation:
Once we become friends with someone, it's very easy to
start taking that friendship for granted. Just as we
often do with siblings, we treat our friends as if they're
always going to be there for us and with us, no matter
what. And somehow, we never start thinking that this
relationship just might take some work not just to
maintain it, but to help it to grow and thrive.
What kind of work can we do on our friendships?
Well, we can listen to our friends when they speak, and
learn about their likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams,
fears and desires. We can encourage our friends when
they need encouragement, and we can respect their
perspectives on life and living. We can make an
extra effort to spend a little bit of time with them,
doing nothing but being a friend. We can babysit
their kids, or watch their pets for them.
And since friendships are fragile, there are other things
that we shouldn't do. While we can give advice, we
certainly shouldn't tell our friends what they should
do. We shouldn't stand our friends up, assuming
they'll be okay with it because they are our
friends. We shouldn't share their secrets with
others, and we shouldn't criticize them harshly when we
don't agree with them. And we most certainly
shouldn't expect them to be there for us if we aren't
willing to be there for them.
Many people treat their friends in these ways already, for
they recognize that a friendship-- just as any other
relationship-- takes effort to maintain and to help it
grow. Most of us, though, simply don't sit down and
consider what we might do to improve our relationships
(I'm very guilty of this myself), and that's a shame, for
in neglecting this aspect of our lives, we keep ourselves
and our friends from enjoying deeper and more satisfying
relationships.
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