Friends are the family we choose freely. True friends know all about us, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and still, stick around throughout the ups and downs. They can see the pain in your eyes, or even from the way you text, rush to catch the first tear and stop the waterworks. I am blessed, or cursed 🤷🏻‍♀️, with an intuition that tells me right away if a person is going to stay in my life or not. I can sense anyone's manipulation attempts, even when I say or do nothing about it, and just wait to see where they are heading at with their intentions. That explains why many people I know have never moved past the acquaintance status. Some will pretend to be your friend as long as they benefit from you or get something out of you. It doesn't have to be something material, so be aware of these exploiters who will be around as long as there is something in it for them. You want to avoid the toxic ones who pretend they care, the energy vampires who will leave you drained, or the "seasonal" ones who pop in and out of your life, according to their whims or temperament. Friends and family are supposed to be a safe haven, not a place of toxicity and heartache. They make for the rainbow in your clouds 🌈

I met my best friend of almost 27 years at university. I used to sit with my books around me so no one would be sitting too close. She addressed me politely and said she wanted to sit next to me if I would gather my stuff. I was rude enough to point another spot for her but she insisted and I had to make room. I mumbled internally that some people are really too much and how different it was from Europe where one would be granted some space if one wished to. In Lebanon, and the Orient in general, people socialize a little too much for my taste. They are all over each other's zones and that suffocates me with just anyone. Not with the people dear to my heart though. They are just not so many. And it suits me this way... Coming back to my best friend of nearly three decades, she was so genuinely friendly and nice that I opened up to let her in my life. And we have been closest friends since then. We have lived most of those years on different continents and in different countries, but we always managed to stay as close as possible. I love her children as if they were my own. Her family and friends all know how dear I am to her and how essential she is to me, and sometimes they invite me when she is solicited 😂

Real friendship is not about wealth, privilege, or time. Friends want to hold your hand when you need it the most. They understand your silence and the suffering behind your smile. They are committed to you and your well-being. They don't show up when it's convenient for them. They stick with you in your lowest mood and also in the good times. They are in your daily thoughts and prayers. Even when distance separates you, they remain in your heart. I have learned so much from my best friend who is a wonderful and amazing woman. And she says I constantly open her eyes to things. What I am certain of is that through thick and thin, we are always going to be there for each other. She might not be a weirdo like me, but we will never let each other go. And what a number of memories, jokes, and silly not so silly conversations we have had over the years! I am forever grateful that she insisted on sitting next to me that morning and that she broke the ice with some conversation that I don't recall but that still gives me a smile 😊

Quotes about friendship:

One loyal friend is worth a thousand relatives - Euripides

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me - Henry Ford

A best friend is like a four-leaf clover. Hard to find, and lucky to have - Anonymous

Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief - Cicero

True friendship is never serene - Marquise de Sévigné

A friend loves at all times - Proverbs 17:17

True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable - David Tyson Gentry

Our quality of life depends on the people we surround ourselves with. Our families are sort of assigned to us but kindred spirits will be drawn to us throughout our lives. Lucky are the ones who have the same friend(s) in the different stages of our existence. For when your friend touches your hand, in reality, it's your heart that is moved... What do you think?