May 6, 2007: Friendship

Have you ever heard the church song "Friends"? The lyrics are as follow..."Packing up the dreams God planted in the fertile soil of you; Can't believe the hopes he's granted means a chapter in your life is through. But we'll keep you close as always; It won't even seem you've gone, cause our hearts are big and in small ways. Will keep the love that keeps us strong. And friends are friends forever. If the Lord's the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never cause the welcome will not end. Though its hard to let you go, in the Father's hands we know that a lifetime's not too long to live as friends." This is the song that played at mass yesterday. If I were not at mass and having to display a "public face" I would have broken down crying! Letting go of a friend due to graduation or circumstance is a difficult thing to do. Praying and relying on God and His plan is all we can do in these scenarios. God will sustain and nourish.

What is a friend? Why are they so important? What is it about them that we desire? God created us to be in community so that we can live to our full potential - be who we are. We have an innate desire to be with others. However, what does this innate desire with others do for us? Why do we feel the need to nourish this? Is it because we need to have a place where we can bounce and debate ideas about philosophical or concrete issues so that we can become more virtuous people? Does becoming a more virtuous person require good friends? Is it because these friendships feed a desire of love? Why is my definition of friendship deeply intertwined with my notion of romantic love? This intertwining is good but it can blur or confuse boundaries at times.

One aspect of friendship, I believe, is that friends should be there in times of joy, sadness, and all the in between. What if you reach out to them, ask them to be present in the midst of whatever is going on, and they don't respond, support, or are not present, whatever form that presence might be? Can they be forgiven? Are they true friends?

Although this blog entry is not quite rhythmic in flow I think these random thoughts are worth reflecting upon.