Friendship

~ FRIENDSHIP ~

Dear Friends on our Journey ~ ~ ~

Life itself without friends is dismal. When we isolate and push away our friends, we push away something very important. I have done that in the past .... and I suffer everytime I do. Many relationships fall under the term of "friendship." And all are important. But some can be crucial.

I am a compulsive over-eater. I have a disease. I am an addict. And part of the addiction and one of the ways this disease manifests itself is in precarious relationships. We who are compulsive have probably been that way for a very long time .... and it really isn't the compulsive part that I'm talking about here. It is the consequences that I am talking about. After the disease takes over and does its damage.

Friends are precious. We value them. We cling to them. And we need them. When we are given a true friend, it is a gift from God. Because most people cannot accept all the facets of a personality that this disease causes. A real friend can. I treasure the real friends I have in this lifetime. I found some short, beautiful poems on friendship. I'd like to share them with you.

A fire gives warmth and light,
and likewise a friend.
When I see him I feel the
joy deep inside me,
like a pilgrim who is
lost and finds the right
way at last.

G. Laemen

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,
nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship;
it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one
when he discovers that someone else
believes in him and is willing to trust him.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friendship is the marriage
of the soul.

French Proverb

Friendship is loving rather
than being in love.

Robert Bridges

Friendship is an
inner life shared.

J. Castelli

What is a friend?
I will tell you.
It is a person
with whom you dare
to be yourself.

Frank Crane.

Friendship
is the white stepping stones
in the flower-bed
to reach the other side
in safety.

M. Meys

Friendship is almost
always the union of one mind
with a part of another;
people are friends in spots.

George Santayana

A mill needs two stones;
friendship needs two souls.

Anonymous

Dear God,
Please help me
to learn who my friends
are in my life today ... and
who isn't. And help me to
treasure those who are real.

Love,
Mari
Marisok@aol.com
The Recovery Group