Overthinkers Unite

We all have friends, but what does it look like?

The definition these days has a couple meanings:

1. A person who one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
2. A contact on a social media application

Personally, this baffles me. How are one and two related? Over the course of our life we have many friends that come and go during different seasons that you have developed a bond with and there’s mutual affection. A social media contact is also called a “friend“ but do you truly have that mutual affection and bond? Do they know your inner secrets? Can you call them at any time of the night to listen or drop what you’re doing to help them or their family?

As I have aged, my friendship group has dwindled over the years and that upset me at one time. However, the friendship group that I have now is stronger, deeper, and a broader scope of friendship than it was when I was younger. I have personally dropped everything and rearranged plans to attend services, help with moving, visit families in hospitals, or just been there to get someone out of the house. I love my friends on Facebook, but I don’t know how many of them I would do that for.

I have closed my circle of close friends to protect my soul from hurt. Of course, with any relationship, there is always going to be hurt or arguments, or disagreements. But with that close bond, you move past that and grow more as friends.

So my challenge, and what keeps me awake at night, is how to best support friends to let them know I care. Personally, as an empath, I feel their feelings and I feel their hurts like they’re my own. I truly would spend every day supporting and doing things for my friends and family and it would be a welcome full time job. But, you know, I do have a full-time job that requires a lot of mental fortitude and emotions.

Balancing life with your family and friends is very important. Your family is always your family and you need to be there for them, but those friends intertwine and become family as well ,so always remember that.

The only way to have a friend is to be one.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson