Mes ami, ma famille...

I've been doing alot of thinking these past few weeks about friendship...defining it and asking questions regarding what friendship means to me...who are my friends...and if I'm a good friend to others...

My friends are my family. They are the individuals I turn to for emotional support, communication and love. They do not define who I am but these important people have helped sculpt the person I am today. It would be pure selfishness and ego if I thought it was a solo effort.

Early in life (as a young girl), I was taught the value of a good friend. The kind of person who doesn't judge you or put you down, the kind of person who laughs and cries with you in joyous AND somber occasions...and the kind of person who's by your side when you're in need of it the most...

I admit that I've been so wrapped up in my need for 'balance' in my life that I forget the more important things. It's not the amount of things or gifts that surmise what a 'true' friend is...nor is it the number of times you receive or make phone calls...and it's certainly not about the increments of time spent or how long you have known one another...

These examples are not the core of what establishes a friendship. They are the pieces to the intricate puzzle that create (what one would hope) a lasting friendship that can withstand bumps and obstacles that life can manifest. For me, it's the realization that what makes a good friendship is whether I'm a good friend first and foremost. It's the desire and honesty to communicate my feelings...with love and compassion. It's the awareness of my own actions and doing the challenging thing of looking myself in the mirror before passing judgement on others (and not being self righteous). It is also in the midst of these reflections that perhaps others are doing these introspective mental exercises as well...in the hopes of better understanding not only themselves but others as well.

There is no price nor gesture nor summation of a word that can really define a true friend. The best way that I can put it is the presence of love and connection that comes from the purity of acceptance...that YOU truly love yourself...knowing that YOU have the power to spread joy and love from within YOURSELF...and that to really begin that process is to look inward, to ask questions and to realize that to have true friends in your life is to start with being a true friend to yourself.