True Friends

photo by J.A.S.
Bank and Greenwich, NYC

" A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."
Arabian Proverb

I have been gifted
with the truest,
most sincere,
REAL
friendships
throughout my life.

The kind of friendships
that are cemented
beyond
circumstance
time, or
distance.

The kind of friendships
that hold
an unspoken
moral code...
A secret language
that is understood
and
given freely.

There is
a tender rarity
when discovering
a 'true friend.'

They may live
on another continent,
and two years have passed
since you have seen one another...

You each run
different life courses;
with different
outcomes,
objectives,
or goals.

All of this fades;
as both of you
connect and
reconnect
to the intimate
bond of friendship...
eager to explore more
of the known and unknown,
together.

For all the mistakes,
failures,
triumphs,
successes,
and life changes...
the friendship
calls to
it's authentic essence,
effortlessly.

As you laugh,
at an old memory,
or
the opposing life choices
made,
you also feel
a warm blanket
of safety.
A safety that is
silent,
but deeply felt...
never needing verbal
acknowledgement.

It just is.
It is the ongoing
blossoming of kinship;
requiring nothing,
other than one's
individual presence.

The ease of this gift
can bring one to tears...
tears of gratitude and hope.

The greatest beauty
is in realizing
the base of the friendship is
rooted in kindness,
love,
acceptance,
and understanding...
unconditionally.
There is NO set agenda.

It is sad
for those
who do not know
of this level of friendship...
Fear or distrust,
ruling their life choices...
ultimately,
limiting those very life choices.


And so it is...
we are all made
from different cloth.
I guess I prefer
the complication
and uniqueness of quilts,
rather than
the strict
exactness
of only one fabric.