Gifts from Spirit

“Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great.”

Roger de Bussy Rabutin

We have all heard the adages of the waxing and waning of friendships, how some friends stay while others go.  There are some we feel a special kinship to who dance in and out of our lives over the years.  Others may be present only briefly, but impact us beyond compare.

Friendships are treasures and they need loving care even if there are miles between.  A thread of connection whether emotional or physical tethers the friends together.  When life divides us from those we regard as kin, and we never actually see them again, a piece of what was shared can remain vitally present in our hearts.

There is much joy to be found with the bonds of relationship.  Experiencing the serious, bursting with laughter or being in stillness all contribute to our sense of understanding each other.  Joy comes when we are physically reunited with long lost friends or upon meeting a new kindred spirit.

Relationships contain many aspects:  healthy boundaries; support and encouragement; silence; laughter; diversity; and unconditional acceptance.    We may find similarities in each other, but we are not clones.  We are unique individuals offering our gifts to each other.  Blended together, we can be rekindled, but in separation we remain very much our own person.

We find parts of our selves whether weak or strong, reflected in our friends.  The reflection encourages us to be more like it or makes us aware of the need to tone it down.  We can celebrate particular aspects of our friends while slowly realizing we, too, have those parts as well.  Each friend contains a spirit within holding a message for us.  In trust, we can learn major lessons or in fear, disappear.