Inspiration: The True Mark of a Friend

If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.

– Winnie the Pooh

There is something intimately tied to the concept of friendship that fosters hope, belief, and encouragement to strive towards the goals we seek. An old joke goes:

Do You the difference between and friend and an acquaintance?

A true friend is sitting in the cell with you!

I guess I must have hung out with a pretty rough group of people growing up, even though I had not been in that kind of trouble myself. Well, you also heard the saying about jokes in general, within the context of any joke exists a half-truth. Here is the thing, there is some truth to this viewpoint of friendship, although we can remove the illicit nature behind the activity for most true friends.

Friends are a means of support, nourishment, love, and support. However, friendships can also become destructive if they have served their purpose and one or the other party has moved on. Like any form of relationship, they are dynamic by nature. They must grow and allow us to mutually grow within their context. If not, the relationship and eventually the self begin to stagnate, causing the person to become paralyzed within the context of a relationship that no longer works.

Here… Winnie the Pooh reminds us of the supportive function friendships give us. A true friendship acts as a beacon of hope. They allow us to gauge or own sense of courage, foster our own sense of security, and work towards our own best aim even in light of the many areas of self doubt that ultimately arise from that person that stares back at you in the mirror.

This Valentines Day, do the friendly thing, and be grateful for that friend that brings out the best in you.

Believe… Achieve… Advance Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams.