Un amico

     Mark Twain once stated that grief can take care of itself which I don't actually agree....but I do agree with how he stated that to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.....that somebody is a friend.  When it comes to how I have come to this spot on the path which I am traveling, it is due to the few blessed friends whom have graced my heart. The depths of my heart can not find the words to describe how my few dear friends have affected and influenced.....the growth of my faith.....the path which I travel.....and the choices which I make. Aristotle didn't know how accurate he was when he stated that a friend is a single soul in two bodies, and the joy comes when you are blessed with sharing a single soul with a few special friends....intertwined like the strength of a spider web.....capturing the moments which take your breath away.  

     According to Albert Einstein, the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.......... a friendship.......un amico. How true! Each of my few dear friendships which I hold in high esteem and respect is a mystery in its own right.  One is a childhood friendship which has withstood the test of time as we each traveled our individual stormy waters....holding each other up in prayer and words of wisdom....allowing our affection to support one another
.....giving a foundation for our tears and joys.  Another is a friendship where time and age makes no difference.  We understand one another......despite a generation gap.....our affection closes in on the truths of life. The final friendship is ambiguous.....a sweet egnima. It sparked into existence a lifetime ago, and then disappeared into the cosmos.  Miracle of miracle....our hearts heard the calling of our souls through the far depths of the universe, and we found each other through the cluttering network of the world. Through the brokenness.....we remain "unbroken" (Liam Flaherty). 


     "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).....This is what these three friends do for me.  They bring out the best in me in their own unique graceful manner......Well....ok....maybe not always so graceful.....LOL....but with full trustworthy affectionate hearts.  Our friendships are responsibilities not opportunities (Kahlil Gibran).  These friends take my breath away leaving fulfilling peace and happiness....a contentment only compared to the Holy Joy of God's loving embrace.

"I count myself in nothing else so happy

As in a soul rememb'ring my good friends."

- William Shakespeare

"No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being for whom it can feel trust and reverence."     - George Eliot

"The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?"

- Henry David Thoreau

Grazie.....mo chairde.

("I Would Die for You" - Mercy Me)