Friendship

Friendship...

As in the word, a friend is like a ship that carries us, abides with us unfailingly, through the calm and rough seas of life.

There is no purer relationship than friendship. It is unconditional loyalty and love. Friendship is a bond of steadfastness and acceptance that allows us to be who we are, fully, without fear that love will be withdrawn.

Over a lifetime, it is the bond of friendship that allows us to explore our depths with non-judgmental feedback and supportiveness.

Sometimes, the friendship we give is not returned--but we benefit in another way: The process of extending friendship expands our consciousness. While giving and in the afterglow, we feel a sense of connectedness.

Once we experience the connectedness we feel while giving caringly, we know that it is not just what we receive in life that makes us happy. It is mainly the connectedness that we feel when our own boundaries of self-centeredness break down through our lovingness, that we feel our internal sense of peace and happiness.

Life on earth is a progression of moments--a progression of remembering who we are and for remembering that our mission is to love fully in each moment. Acting for the best interest of our friends is a way to love fully in many moments of our lives.

Lasting happiness, moment to moment, becomes our experience as we feel and express ourselves lovingly.

There is an incredible depth of experience in being fully aware in a single moment. Example: Traveling along by train, when we glance straight out the window we see blurred images--the train is moving too quickly for us to focus on one object. But as the train slows down and stops we can see a scene in depth--a field, farmhouse, trees off on the distant horizon. The stillness of the stopped train allows us to focus in the depth that was not possible while the train was rapidly moving along.

In our life we can enjoy depth of view by focusing well on each of our activities. When we focus on each of our activities during the day, we get a lot done, feeling satisfied. Personal organization--daily planning--allows us the freedom of mind to be focused in the moment. Planning allows us to accomplish the most in the least amount of time. We also are freeing up time and energy spent in thinking about what we need to do next.

As the day progresses and we perform our tasks and interactions with caringness and lovingness, we are fulfilling our mission--we are becoming the depth of love possible in each moment.

In the moment, at this moment, caring with our friends is a way to fully express life's excellence.