Be a Friend
Many learn the lesson earlier, and some not until after they have reflected on their high school years: but if we want friends in life, we must first be a friend. Friendship, of course, does not gestate overnight, and the incubation period for many friendships is lengthy. And not all friendships hatch and feather into beautiful swans. Still, there are so many friendships born in high school that last a lifetime, and many others that should not.
But our high school lessons on friendships do last a lifetime . . . even the lessons born of pain or guilt or odd association. Some friendships we outgrow. Others we grow into. Some evolve. Others perish.
At the heart of any lasting friendship, however, is the willingness to be a friend. One must strive to be before one obtains.
This one lesson on friendship lasts us a lifetime and informs many of our business associations, our abilities to move and to adapt to change and new communities, and even our marriages. The heart must be offered first. Those who have no friends are usually lousy friends. Those who have many friends have learned the lesson of friendship and bring value to the lives of others.
High School, if it has any redeeming value, is the crucible of lessons learned which, if we are attentive, shapes much of our lives. Friendship may be at the center of the experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment