‎”I don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends I can be certain of”

This simply written statement says it all. It allows a certain amount of reflection into our lives. Most of us learned a lot of lessons around friends. I certainly have. Quality over Quantity is definitely the way to go.

Over the last year, when the hard times showed up, I began to see who my real friends were. They are the ones who loved me no matter what and stood beside me even when I was not there to see it. They are the ones who knew the real me, inside and out. They can feel my heart and know what I am about. This has been a blessing. The challenges in life turn out to be your biggest blessings. They have in my life. Even though everything is not back to perfect, (What is perfect anyway?) I have had the blessing of seeing who will be there when I need them.

I do not open myself up very easily. There are people I have known for years who still don’t know me on a personal level. This has been on purpose. I guard myself and I am always looking to keep myself safe. This goes back to my childhood. I have learned some lessons the hard way. Being guarded is one of those self preserving necessities that has helped me live through these lessons, and I am thankful to my inner self for taking such good care of me. But now is the time to begin to open the doorway to my heart, just a little. There is a peace about gently opening up my soul to others. Without these hard times I would have never gotten the courage to begin this process. I would have never known who will be there when I really need them. I am grateful for the challenges that have weeded out the people who were close to me just for their own benefit. I am so much happier now. I can look at these amazing people in my life and know that they are what true friends should be. They are the ones who show up, not for themselves, but because they are needed. They do not make it about themselves, they see the pain or need in the situation and they are the ones who will be on this new journey with me.

I have always been a person who loves to help. I will go above and beyond if I feel I can be of service to others. I deeply feel that giving of myself is one of my gifts to the world. But now I have to be a little more selfish in giving of myself. I tend to overextend myself and it begins to take away from myself and the ones that truly need me.

Selfishness gets a bad wrap sometimes, but we owe it to ourselves to be selfish with our hearts and our time. This helps ensure that the ones who really need us get the best of us.

In closing, I want to extend all my love and gratitude to my newest friends. To the amazing like-minded people who have become close to my heart. Some of you helped inspire me to look closely at myself and others around me and be deeply grateful in recognizing the truth of my relationships. You don’t even know you did this, but my love goes out to you. I just want to thank my friends who have shown up for me. The gift of your love and care mean more than you will ever know. You are my definition of true friendship!

In Peace,

Michelle

“Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.”