Member-only story
Leap of Faith
Some thoughts on friendship
People come and go, in and out of our lives. Some of them will make overtures of friendship towards us. Most of us have plenty of acquaintances but the number of people we consider true friends is much smaller. We have unseen barriers surrounding us; defensive lines we do not let just anyone cross.
As we come into contact with other humans we decide whether or not to let them through the ‘acquaintance barrier.’ That is our first line of defense. We decide whether to keep them outside of that barrier as a stranger or person to be avoided. If certain conditions are met we may let them through the ‘acquaintance barrier’ and get to know them a tiny bit, learn their name and interact with them when we encounter them. They are people we accept into our lives but who we have not yet allowed past our ‘friendship barrier.’
Friendship involves so much more than simply knowing someone and interacting with them. When we allow someone inside that defensive barrier the relationship becomes very personal and we open up and reveal so much more of ourselves just as they do. There are levels of trust and sharing and love that we do not have with just anyone.
Dogs are famous for their unconditional love. All they have to do is sniff you and they immediately know if you are a friend or not.
