Friendship

Friends  make us healthier. According to research from the Harvard Nurses' Health Study, having close friends actually contributes to better overall physical functioning. The researchers found that the absence of a close confidante is a health risk comparable in magnitude to smoking or a high body-mass index. 

Despite the persistent myth that friendship functions merely as an accessory in our lives, our relationships with others is far from tangential. "We need to get together; we need our rituals," says Pam Grout, author, "Friends are mirrors into ourselves. Sure, sometimes we hang out with our friends just for fun. But getting together also gives us a break from the daily grind so we can talk about big ideas and explore possibilities."  A level of trust elevates friendship to something more than just companionship: It creates a much-needed emotional outlet. In these types of friendships, we know we can come as we are, speak our minds, and bare our souls. 

If some pill or potion could lessen our stress and lengthen our lives, we'd take the daily dose. Friends are this multipurpose remedy, We need to stop seeing friendships as a nice "extra" and start valuing them as a life-sustaining necessity.(Our great-grandmothers met for quilting and canning; our grandmothers sewed for the soldiers; and our mothers invented playgroups. We need to add our contribution.) We need to carving out time for the friends in our lives.

We can keep our friends birthdays, special events, dates to remember, on our calendar. Make notes in our day planners so we remember the little things. Take the time to connect, keeping in touch. Celebrating friends' successes as if they are our own. This will help not only build the bond between friends, but help make our lives more fulfilled. This celebrating builds our friendship muscles. So does listening, keeping confidences, and going the extra mile.  Being a good friend can result in having good friends.

In a culture that tends to regard growing old as a personal failing, the fact that friendship ages well can provide sweet consolation. Friends make us healthier, they make our lives richer, and they embellish and awaken every part of our personal world. 

* I am so grateful for my friends. Talking for hours on the phone, and not feeling like we have covered everything yet. Sharing an hour at a restaurant, enjoying stories about family and events. Knowing that even though I haven't seen a good friend in years, we keep in touch on FB, or email, and when the opportunity arises to get together, it's like no time has been missed. Having a friend that you can share all the dirt with, and knowing that they wont judge, but they will laugh or cry, sympathize or give aid. I am so thankful to all my friends that cause a desire within me to be better. I am also so grateful for the love that is shared. My friends are my family, and I am crazy about them!