Friendships

Some friendships last a lifetime. There are people I've known since my school days, (some thirty years ago now), who will always be there. It doesn't matter if we don't talk for a year or even years. We can always pick up the telephone and pick up where we left off. It goes without saying that if either of us ever was in need that we could count on the other for help and support.

But friendships come in varying shapes and sizes and not all friendships last a lifetime. There are friends we socialise with but never divulge our innermost secrets too. There are friends we run into occasionally by accident who are probably more like aquaintances but still we stop to take the time to say hello, swap stories and then have no contact until the next time we run into each other at the shopping mall and feel obliged to give each other the time of day. There are also friends who've played a significant role in our lives at some point but for one reason or another are no longer a part of our lives and will never ever be so again.

I think back to milestones like my thirthieth and fortieth birthdays and recall the people who were there to celebrate with me. The funny thing is that no-one from my thirthieth was there to share my forthieth. Transient friends? Friends who were couples break up. My own marriage disintegrated and couples who were friends went one way or the other. Things change and people move in and out of your life. That's how it goes.

Let's not forget the social networking revolution. Sites like MySpace, Facebook, and now Twitter have spawned new friendships with people from all over the globe. These are people we've connected with, shared intimate details of our lives with, but often never met in person. Some of these people, too, have come into our lives and made a brief impact only to disappear likes ships in the night, never to be seen or heard from again.

Only time will tell but I believe everyone comes into our lives for a reason. We may not be immediately aware of their purpose but we learn from our experiences and our interactions with our fellow human beings. Life is a series of lessons and we learn much from the friendships we forge along the way.