Love and Friendship

I posed the question, “What makes life wonderful”? I was in a pensive mood that morning, as I had to confront a difficult personal situation. I reflected on what had helped me get through a very difficult time. The immediate and truthful answer was the immense love and support that I had been blessed with from three caring and unwavering friends.

I had come to find out after a very arduous couple of months,that for the most part, I had many acquaintances, but only a few friends. Just a sign of the times. Everyone is so busy with life; no one has the time or inclination to work at a relationship that demands their time in order to build a true friendship.

Keep an open mind just for a moment. What if you are fortunate enough to have a true friend? This is a person that will come to your aid in a moments notice. They will help you no matter what the time of day. There is nothing that you cannot share with this person as you trust them beyond any shadow of doubt. You will even confide things to them that you would not tell your family because they truly relate and understand you. They are your brother or sister of the soul. Your bond is stronger than flesh and blood, they are you and you are them.

That is the friendship I had discovered in the last two months. I had been blessed with not just one such friend, but three. Three people that will do anything for me when I need them. I was not feeling too good about myself and these three angels from heaven helped heal some wounds and supported me beyond anything that I deserve. When you couple their friendship and loyalty I received from these three gentlemen, along with the unconditional love I have from my family, I realized that despite my personal difficulties, I am a blessed man.

Doctor J. Richard Cookerly is a Relationship Psychotherapist as well as a graduate professor, clinical supervisor and senior consultant for counselors, therapists, physicians, nurses, religious counselors, educators and finally a published author of professional and lay books, articles, etc.

He believes friendship love may have saved more lives than any other kind of love! He states that friendship love may help people through hard times as much as any other type of love! Friendship love is often the longest lasting love in many people’s lives...maybe the most reliable kind of love in their lives.

After finding his material online and really trying to grasp his concepts of friendship, I realized I had benefitted from a nurturing loving kind of friendship, which included care-giving,emotional reinforcement, supportiveness, sustenance provision, relief giving, guidance and any and other actions that was meant for my well-being.

Now, just imagine if each and every one of us were to reach out to just one person just as I described in the paragraph above. Imagine the difference that you would make in that person’s life. Now, imagine that they did the same for someone else. Can you feel the wave of positive and uplifting emotions? We would actually be showing an unwavering commitment of love, friendship and loyalty to our fellow man. No more barriers between us due to age, race, religion or ethnicity. Just people helping other people.

I would imagine that our parents, grandparents and even great grandparents would be able to tell us of a time when front doors were never locked. They could tell us when friends did not wait until they were asked to do a favor because they were already there at the ready to be of help. They could tell us when the neighborhood you lived in was made up of the people who knew each other’s names. There was no such thing as organized neighborhood watches that made the evening news because it was so rare, but a given that everyone looked out for each other.It’s still not too late. We can still make a difference if only we have a willingness to change. I am living proof that love, friendship and loyalty helps. It also prompts me to respond in kind.

As the original song, “What the World Needs Now is Love” tells us in the first verse…

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.”