THREE TYPES OF FRIENDSHIPS

Ten crosses completed.....six to go.  Feels like I'm running a marathon, counting down the miles.  Patience does attain all it strives for.

Sun is shining today.  Chicken is in the crock pot, and we'll await a steamy hot bowl of chicken noodle soup and chicken sandwich for supper.  Perfect for a Sunday of car racing, golf and sewing.  

I've mentioned one of the books I'm reading, Resilience by Eric Greitens.  The current chapter is about Friends.  In my notebook I've written about the three types:....

1.  Friendships of Utility - people brought together who are useful to one another. This includes co-workers, business partners, and teammates.  These friendships are prone to disappear as soon as you stop being mutually useful.   

2.  Friendships of Pleasure - people we like being around.  These friendships can reach a point when you no longer find each other amusing, and the relationship may die.

3.  Friendships of Excellence - With our closest friends, it's enough to just be together.  Our best friends support us, challenge us, inspire us.  And, we do the same for them.  This type of friend is best defined:  when two people are looking in the same direction.  These friendships are rare.  Something you can't replace, buy or borrow.  This kind of friendship is precious, worth protecting.

I find this chapter useful in identifying the friends in my life.  There are those who were friends of utility, friends of pleasure, and there are those friends who mean everything to me, they are lasting, true and genuine.  Categorizing friends is a valuable exercise in realizing how much others mean to us.  It's good to face the thought of what life would be like for us if they were no longer here.  

Any relationship that ends is painful, but, after reading this, it's easier for me to understand why some friendships have ended.  Friends can be temporary blessings who are in our lives at certain stages of our journey.  Real friends feel kinda like comfy casual clothes, they fit without feeling tight and allow us to be our genuine selves.  

After reading this chapter, I am blessed to say that I have a filled basket of excellent friends.  Those who didn't make it into my beloved basket must've had early expiration dates, and that's okay.  They served their purpose, and their heart-prints will stay etched in my heart.