My friend from Chicago is visiting me, and I am ecstatic. More because our friendship goes back many moons when we not only shared our school lunches but even some of our secrets, which makes her part of my inner circle. Even if we do not talk for months, we can easily pick up from where we last left and still indulge in smooth conversations.
Gripped by nostalgia, I recall the following phrase from my elementary school days—
‘There is a gold ship, there is a silver ship, but the best ship is friend-ship’
This priceless ship lets me ride my happy cloud, and also offers courage to embrace the hard times. With my little experience on this subject, I would categorize friends into three types-
Connector friends or enablers– Connectors are confident people who are not threatened to share their friends and acquaintances, rather they enable these connections actively. These people are generally more social and know a lot of people. If you are fortunate (like me) to have one of the ‘connectors’ in your circle, then this is just the beginning of your expanding social circle.
Boundary Friends– These people are not willing to share their friends, probably because they are the insecure bunch, and thus are perfectly opposite of connectors. They may be warm and chummy, but they guard their friends closely. Such peeps do not contribute towards the growth of your social circle.
Harmony friends– These are the people that like to co-mingle, and not hesitate to share their friends. They are not as forthcoming as connectors and thus are not socially popular. I will put many of my friends into this category, including myself.
Whatever the category friends belong to, they are an integral part of our happy social existence. With my daily chores, family, kids and work, it is a challenge to carve out time to nurture friendships. However with years, I have understood the significance of having my own circle of friends, and so now I invest more effort to stay connected and also be there for the friends when they need me. <All take and no give is a recipe for disaster!!>
Surely ‘Friends are one of the life’s greatest blessings.’
Photo credit: KerKaya via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND