Friendly Thoughts

"The Bestest of Friends"
Today I got an email from my longtime friend, Helen. We’ve known each other for over 20 years but due to distance and the distractions of living, we have been in contact less than ten times in the last 15 years. The last time we met in person, she was still single and obsessively worried that she’d be left on the shelf; something those of us who knew her were sure would not happen. Now she’s been happily married for years and a mother of three.

Anyway, I have been working very hard and very late and was feeling rather tired, when with the perfect timing that lifelong friends have, she sends me this uplifting slideshow by email. The slideshow has some fantastic pictures but it was the words and the message that stand out.

First it challenged the viewer to name the 5 richest men in the world, the last 5 Miss Universe winners, the last 10 winners of the Nobel Prize and the last 10 winners of Best Actor Oscar. I am sure that most of us would find it difficult to give all those answers.

Next it asked the viewer to name 3 teachers that helped direct your life, 3 friends who helped you in your times of need, think of a few people who made you feel special and 5 friends you would like to spend time with. I found this far simpler to answer.

The slideshow suggests that the people who really matter most to us are not those proclaimed the “best”, or those who won prizes or even those with the most money. Rather, they are the ones who cared for us, were there for us and those who stuck by us through thick and thin.

It then asked if we belonged to the first group or the second group. Finally, a message from Helen who said, “Let me give you a hand. You’re not in the rich or famous group but you belong amongst those I would remember to send this message to.”

Thanks Helen for remembering me and for making me feel special.

It reminded me once again that “googles” of money cannot buy happiness but just a better class of enemies. However, friends who do not grow cold and distant despite separation in time and space are precious jewels that adorn our lives and gives our lives sparkle. I know not why I have been so blessed. I don’t know if I deserve it but I do value them.

Fuzzy-Wuzzy Anglo-Egyptian, Greek Goddess, Julie H., Professor Debra, Juliet Nightingale and the Bickley Sisters, Brother It, God of Immunology, H. Lion Baht and the rest. You know who you are. I am thinking of you and saying a prayer for you tonight. God bless you, wherever you are.