Friend/Friendship: What It Means to Me

The word "friend" means a lot to me! To me, It means caring about someone deeply and fundamentally from a place of emotional availability and understanding. As a result, the word "friendship" also means a lot to me! To me, It means the sharing of a mutually cultivated bond from a place of emotional understanding and empathy. 

Confession: I see everyone as a friend. However, not everyone sees me as a friend. As a result, I am not in a friendship with everyone (we're not all on that same "ship").

On social media, I've noticed that the word friend refers to a person added to a list. It seems to have to do more with familiarity (and/or an image/status game of sorts) than closeness/a close bond. It is because of this that I desire to embrace mindfulness from a place of understanding when it comes to what dynamics I'm in; I've been doing my best to move beyond that list collection and, as a result, I want my Friend Space(s) to reflect that! That is why I only intend to add Others after the cultivation of a mindful, mutual foundation of communication, emotional availability, understanding, kindness, and empathy! And, I'd desire that it primarily does happen - directly in IMs! (Acknowledgement to those that I haven't added but have added me; I haven't ignored you and, if you want to interact, my IMs are open (appreciation to those who have been doing so))!

There was a video I saw a few years ago that got me to realize something: before the phrase "best friend" existed, the word "friend" existed. And, in the past, the word "friend" existed in the spot that "best friend" exists in now: to be friends in those times meant that, one way or another, people were mutually and intentionally a part of each other's lives, mutually doing their best to maintain that intentionality when it came to having each other's backs in one way or another! 

THAT is the energy that I deeply desire to embrace alongside Others! Throughout existence, I've seen (and felt) that friendship has been able to get VERY deep when mutually cultivated! And, I understand that, the more and more It is mutually embraced, the deeper and deeper It has the potential to go and to grow! As a result, I seek to explore this more and more, even in the Deeper, Darker Depths. So, as a result, I seek It. I seek.....You!

There's a saying that I've commonly heard that goes like this: "Blood is thicker than water." After doing my best to delve deeply into the depths of understanding deep friendship, I ended up finding another version of this quote, one that I truly believe in and abide to: "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

I truly believe that friendship can exist beyond gender, culture, and societal norms in general. Because..... I've seen It. And.... I see You!