Did You Miss This New Holiday?

Friendship does the heavy lifting of happiness in our lives, so I’d say it deserves better. Time is critical, vulnerability is essential, but maybe something else we should remember is gratitude. Hug a friend today. We don’t celebrate our friendships enough.

Eric Barker, Plays Well with Others

Did you know yesterday was Friend Day?

It didn’t show up on your smartphone’s calendar. You can’t find a Hallmark card celebrating it. Your friends didn’t remember to give you a gift.

Don’t be too hard on your friends (or yourself).

The reason you didn’t know yesterday was Friend Day is because I just made it up.

But we should have a special day to celebrate friendship.

Other relationships are important. But ancient Hebrew wisdom tells us there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

We don’t get to choose our siblings or even get to decide if we have any.

But we select our friends.

There is another selection process operating with friends. You could call it “survival of the stickiest.”

When difficult times come, some of our friends don’t come. They don’t show up. They aren’t very sticky.

But thank God for the friends who do stick by us.

They are the ones we can call in the middle of the night.

They are the ones who say, “How much do you need?”

They are the ones who help us recover from disastrous choices without condemnation or lectures.

That doesn’t mean they don’t hold us accountable to our own values.

But they do that with love, kindness, and respect.

In its early stages, friendship requires time together, a lot of time together.

But a well-rooted friendship can withstand extended separation and resume instantly when the opportunity arrives.

Time by itself is not enough for a friendship to flourish.

Friendship also requires vulnerability.

We can tell our close friend anything without fear of rejection.

We can complain. We can confess. We can confide.

Friendship doesn’t keep accounts.

With our casual friends and acquaintances, we make sure we are giving as much as we get.

But close friends are able to give generously when necessary and to receive humbly when necessary.

Close friends don’t have to agree on everything. It’s better if they don’t.

It is an asset to have someone you trust who can help you see the world from a different perspective.

Cherish your close friends. Send them a note. Give them a hug.

Today is Friend Day too.

— Rod Pickett

Now available at Amazon: The Courageous Heart: Wisdom for Difficult Times in paperback and eBook.