*The Beatles
Ok so no blog yesterday. My schedule consisted of waking up to the maintenance man banging on my door to fix the smoke alarms that go off randomly. We're buddies, he and I, but I don't think he's ever told me his name, so for now he'll remain simply "maintenance man." Then I watched Across the Universe--which is awesome if you like fairly weird, musical-y movies--followed by several hours of FRIENDS on DVD. Seasons 1 & 2. Observing all this camaraderie got me thinking about how important friends are in life. Spending most of my time alone with an infant, and all of my time 2,183 miles from my friends in Charleston, I've recently become acutely aware of this fact.
We are social beings. That's how we were created. It's why we cherish friendships. It's why we pine for romantic relationships. It's why we seek God, looking to variations of a higher power. It's why solitary confinement turns otherwise mentally healthy people crazy. It's why, in Cast Away, Tom Hanks had to make friends with a volleyball after a matter of days following his crash landing. It's why for 10 years we tuned in every Thursday night to watch six people hang out with each other. We need social interaction. We find that through relationships; and friendship is, in my opinion, the foundation of every positive relationship.
Webster defines a friend as:
1. "a person whom one knows well or is fond of"
2. "an ally, supporter, or sympathizer"
Aren't all of these characteristics attractive? And don't we find them in several types of relationships? The basis of a healthy romantic relationship is a friendship. Many individuals consider their significant other to be their best friend. Close relationships within the family context are friendships between brother and sister, father and son, aunt and niece, and so on. Even close acquaintances are a form of friendship, though clearly more distant than my previous two examples.
These friendships provide us individuals with whom to share life experiences, good and bad. They give us a since of belonging and worth. Ever wonder why it's suggested that older people who live alone have a dog? It can actually lengthen a person's life, not to mention add quality to their years. All from having a companion.
Unfortunately, in our highly individualistic society and among our ever-increasing technological advances claiming to make the world smaller and more efficient, we are becoming more separated rather than closer. We have relationship anonymously through the computer and lack skills to communicate face-to-face with people we see everyday, leaving us wanting of the intimacy that comes with physical human contact.
In light of these obstacles, it is important that we make an effort to reach out to one another. You never know when someone around you, or you yourself, will need a friend. Life just wasn't meant to be lived alone; it was intended to be shared. As we saw in Cast Away, "no man is an island" because even if he was he'd make up compadres in his head. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go make a phone call...
Here are a few pictures of me and my friends:
"My friends are my estate." -Emily Dickinson
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?" -Ecclesiastes 4:9-11
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival." -C.S. Lewis
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13
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