"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."--Elisabeth Foley
Much has been written about friendship . That's because friendship is fundamental to our species' survival. Its roots are biological and tribal. But friendship also has transcendental qualities.
Many statements about friends and friendship extol the noble characteristics of acceptance, forgiveness , steadfastness, lack of pretense, caring spoken in silence.
Elisabeth Foley acknowledges a rarely recognized aspect of friendship: that separate togetherness--seemingly a paradox--can also be a bond of a loving and lasting friendship.
"Grow separately without growing apart" speaks especially to relationships between lovers and spouses. Growing pains are not just a phenomenon of adolescence. Selves and souls need to grow throughout life.
Love and friendship at their deepest are entwined. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
It's important to be friends with one’s self. "He who makes friends with himself will never be lonely."
Friendship . It spans the spectrum of relationships, from ourself to other selves, and gives meaning to our lives.
“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.”--Henry David Thoreau
Jack Reeves, BA (religion), MA (humanistic psychology, JD (law)
He is an award-winning journalist and international development specialist. He spent much of his career in South America, Asia, and Africa.
He currently writes two syndicated newspaper columns, one humorous (The Sage of Bucksnort) and one inspirational ("Life Lines").
He lives in a cabin overlooking Lake Oconee, Greene County, Georgia.