friendship.

I was browsing through 'Flair' the other day on Facebook, when I came across this:

Now, at first you might not notice what I noticed. Take a good look at the number of adds per heart. As you see, there is a difference of 54 adds.


Let's talk a little about friendship. I was talking to a person that I would consider a friend - we've had some pretty good conversations - about what it means to be a friend. We talked about how it happens that a friend is someone you cannot tell your story without mentioning. It's when people can transcend individuality to begin weaving stories together, formulating new ones together. I think this understanding illuminates some aspects of the entire human story. For example, why sacrifice evokes emotion - it is the ending of one story so that another may go on.

I am not that good of a friend. This I will admit. Not only do I have trouble staying in touch with people, I also have problems opening up to people. It's something I am working on. I know I cannot be everyone's friend, but I can work on being 'what-you-see-is-what-you-get' Jeremy. I think I am going to strive for that, and for never being the one to end a conversation. Stopping when I walking to greet someone, instead of doing the over the shoulder thing.

There are a few dangers in this. One is letting people know me. For the scariest thing is this: letting someone know you (the real you, the one buried beneath all that protection) and having them reject you. Another danger is not going deep with people. In befriending many, there is a risk to be intimate with none. I don't want this to happen. I want to be open and communicable (like a disease), but I also know that not everyone will know everything. There needs to be those few. For example, Nick, Ben and Caleb at Wheaton; Wes and Mitch at home - all five of which I have been slacking in contacting, for which, I am really sorry. Sometimes you realize who your friends are when they are not around, and your jokes are kind of looked strangely at.

I cannot guarantee instant change, but hopefully, a better progression into the person I want to become. And friends are not projects, but relationships of giving and taking. I want to give. I want to take. And that's life. That's the journey. What else do we got?

Want to be my friend? Let's get coffee sometime and talk about our stories, okay?