Yesterday I wrote about emotional constipation. One of the ways to prevent emotional constipation is to have fibrous friends. Fibrous friends are substantive, real, unprocessed, and good for you.
Every morning, as I eat my bran flakes, I call a certain friend. We go over our individual plans for the day, and we fill each other in on whatever might have happened since we last talked. I like to run things by her, because I know she’ll set me straight if I’m about to do something stupid.
I have several other friends who act as checks and balances for my conscience. Some are wise spiritual advisors who push me through difficult passages of life. These friends faithfully walk alongside me, motivating and encouraging me by sharing their own experiences.
Frequently, these fibrous friends are tough on me. They say things that are hard to chew, difficult to swallow. Yet without these friends, my soul would be in bad shape. So I seek out these substantive relationships. Now that I’ve trained myself to actually enjoy these organic companions, my palate no longer craves highly processed relationships filled with artificial additives.
I'm in a different place than you; my friendships are getting fewer and more shallow, but my friendship with my husband has gotten deeper than my girlfriends which wasn't the case before. I guess that's because he's around the most and won't move with a husband's job. Haha.
ReplyDeleteA lot of my friendships are with the students I teach within the classroom. They're not really "friendships" but I pour myself out much in service to them. A stage in life. I think I could use a good close local friend, though. However, time is an issue, and I have lots of friends in the circle, so I should be happy, and I am really. It's just a different time for friends right now. Each seems to have her situational category, but I value them as a group.