"I value the friend who for me finds time on his calender, but I cherish the friend who for me does not have to consult his calendar."

Friendship. Friends.

What do your friends mean to you?

Are they merely leaves tossed about on your wide ocean of social circles and social butterflies? Do all your friends truly mean something to you. or are they just contacts who have talents you need, just stepping stones and the occasional listening ear? To be placed back onto your shelf of 'ingredients' when you don't need them.

To me, friends ought to be the people who form part of your world, your heart, your life. And each one should be cherished, like the brilliant stars that light up the sky at night. Friends are supposed to be the people you love and care for, and not just someone you burden all your problems with, then; when they need you, leave hem hanging onto the phone. Friendships may not last forever, but it should, has to be a two-way relationship. One cannot leave the other standing in the middle of nowhere after emptying one's problems into the other's ear.

It's rather like the relationship that creatures of the animal world have. The relationship between the clownfish and the sea anenome is a good example. The clownfish attracts the bigger fish to the anenome, and the anenome protects it. If either one was to decide one day that it didn't want to do its job, but yet decided to stay on and enjoy the relative luxuries of the relationship, it wouldn't be right, would it? I mean, it follows the same logic as asking your friend to sweep the floor while you watch the television. Do you follow?

It is the same with friendship.

In friendship, there is no such thing as 'I'm always too busy to talk to you.' I won't deny that somtimes, we are far too busy to talk, but if you were truly friends with that person, you would make time to inquire after the person's feelings, thoughts or life in general, wouldn't you? There is no such thing as a calendar or timetable in a friendship, I feel. It's a kind of obligation...

If a friend of mine was to need me really badly, I would not hesitate to drop whatever I was doing to go to her aid in whatever way possible. Honestly, truly.

Friendship must be a two-way thing. There is no other way. How would you expect your friendship to grow if you keep running your friends over with a lorry every time they come to you for reassurance and comfort? Or if you ignored them every time they needed you? In a friendship, it can't just be the one person who is always giving and giving...even if you do think your problems are the greater of the two, you have to be patient and listen, if not, your relationship will never grow, not if it's one-sided in that there is only the comforter and the one needing the comfort. No way.

I don't know.

Relationships need to be two-way. There has to be giving and taking, not just one or the other.

Cherish your friends, love your friends, and make time for them, because if you don't, one of these days, they're going to get tired of you being self-centred, and you'll finally understand why you needed them so much in the first place.

But it'll be too late.

I pray that friends are not just cracked autumn leaves swept up in your gust of wind. I pray that they mean more to you than mere contacts and listening ears.

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