I remember reading Anne of Green Gables in grade school, relishing in wandering down whatever tangent Anne Shirley would guide me.  An introvert by nature, I admire Anne for her strength and ability to prevail through her consequences.  Though we are opposites in many ways, Anne and I share much in common.  Our imagination, love for literature and loyalty to friends are a few of the ties that bind me to Anne — especially her loyalty to friends.

I don’t pretend to offer an analysis for all the types of people there are and the relationships they can have, but from my experience, I’ve met some people who everyone they meet they love and call friends.  Some rather reserve their love for after a relationship has been tested.  Others of us meet people and quickly develop a kinship, a bond that is not easily broken, if ever.  These are the bosom friends, “an intimate friend, you know–a really kindred spirit to whom (you) can confide (your) inmost soul.”  Some of my friends have been elevated to this status, some hover near, and I suppose all the rest have the potential.

Undoubtedly it is our friendships that carry us through our journey when we can’t go any further or just need the encouragement.  They shine a light for us when we can’t see the way.  Most often, they hold a mirror to us, reflecting to us our innate beauty and vitality that we may be too broken to see for ourselves.  For true bosom friends, though, the mirrors you’re holding for each other become empty frames.  All that exists between you is what is real. Your soul is there to communicate with the other’s without any pretense or illusion.  You both are individually and together part of the Whole.

The only way to celebrate your friends whom you know are special is to tell them they are such.  Don’t put them on a pedestal; you wouldn’t want to be on one yourself.  Offer gratitude for their existence and the gifts they bring to your life.  Continue to be there for them as they are for you, no matter how near or far away they are.  And love, purely and simply.  Forever and ever.

(Happy birthday, Uta!)