A Little Help From Our Friends

There was a story in the news not too long ago about a pod of dolphins in Brazil that got thrown off course and started swimming towards the beach.  As they began to get stuck on the sand in shallow water, the people who were on the beach waded in and gave them some help, pulling them back out to the deeper water, one by one, until they were all ok.  It was a wonderful feel good story with a happy ending.  It made me think how we can all use a little help from time to time.

Like the dolphins, it doesn’t take much to throw us off.  At some point or another, we can lose sight of what is really important.  Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make us step back and realize what really matters. Other times our real goals get pushed off course and before we know it, we are so far off that, like the dolphins, we need help to get back on track.

For students, it may be bad choices in behaviors or friends that steer them off course.  It could be a bad grade, a break-up, or a subtle rejection.  For adults it could be a job that is bringing them further from their goals or it could also be choices in people that they surround themselves with that mix them up and move them away from who they really are or who they want to be.

Surrounding ourselves with people who are positive influences in our lives help keep us on course.  When we get mixed up or thrown off, they are there to help us get back on track.  When a big event comes along, whether positive or negative, they are there for us too, offering support, encouragement, and help.  They celebrate with us and also mourn with us.

As I have been readying myself for total knee replacement surgery, I have been blessed with friends, peers, and family who have kept me on track so I didn’t get myself filled with too much anxiety.  For all of them, I am truly grateful.  My next blog may be delayed since I will be ‘out of commission’ for a little while, but something tells me I will have some good material to write about when I return.  Until then, get a little help from your friends when you need it.  That’s what friends are for.

Picture courtesy of clients.ingenious-web.com.

Friends

"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." 

How many of you recognize this song?  I learned it in Girl Scouts a long time ago, but just like the lessons we learned in kindergarten, the message of this song holds true throughout our lives.  Both groups contribute to who we are and also who we have become.

I consider myself blessed to have friends from elementary, middle, and high school who have remained in my life.  I find myself lucky to have been reconnected to even more of them from vehicles such as Facebook.  In addition, some peers who were only acquaintances back then have become more.  These friends offer a link to my past; holding memories that bring me back to my youth.  Some events I remember, some I don't, and some I begin to after hearing the story and say, 'oh yeah, I totally forgot about that'.  If someone produces a photo I have never seen from my past, that is such a special treasure.

As we continue through our lives, we meet more people.  We are blessed that some of them become close friends.  I value these friendships for a very special, but different reason. These 'new' friends see me as the adult, mother, wife, co-worker, and neighbor I have become.  They know me for the adult choices I make and the grown-up things I do.  Our friendships are built upon daily celebrations and struggles.  They are sometimes my check of reality.

Blending the groups of friends is always interesting.  Having a party or gathering with both groups allows me to stand back and hear things like, 'I didn't know that about Linda', as your friends discuss you in the third person in your presence.  Listening to these comments can be comical, eye opening, embarrassing, sentimental, or leave me beaming inside about myself.  Friends should definitely hold that latter quality.

Friends are so important to me.  So as I begin the new year, I vow to make even more new friends while keeping the old...

If you are interested in the lyrics to the rest of the song...

Make new friends,
but keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold. 

A circle is round,
it has no end.
That's how long,
I will be your friend.

A fire burns bright,
it warms the heart.
We've been friends,
from the very start.

You have one hand,
I have the other.
Put them together,
We have each other.

Silver is precious,
Gold is too.
I am precious,
and so are you.

You help me,
and I'll help you
and together
we will see it through.

The sky is blue
The Earth is green
I can help
to keep it clean

Across the land
Across the sea
Friends forever
We will always be

Thank you friend, for reading my blog!