Holding the Hand of Friendship

Loneliness makes the heart grow weak. We weren't meant to walk the path alone. I've cried out for friendship over the years yet knowing that there are very few that can entrusted with the deep things of the heart, that can hold each other and speak softly, taking care not to bruise the tenderest parts of a soul. Rare is the friend that shares her own vulnerability as an invitation to open up that which is vulnerable. The touch of a friend like that makes the journey into the hard possible because you have a hand to hold. We have all been hurt. Self-protection feels safe but it's just a fragile egg shell - even though it surrounds us we struggle hard to avoid the wounds from relationship knowing that the shell doesn't really protect. Learning to trust, to allow the heart to breathe and feel and be touched, takes courage. Without wise trust we build a prison cell from the inside only to find that the safety we thought would bring us peace actually brings claustrophobia and anxious confinement. The heart dies in isolation. It cannot thrive. Let the heart breathe, listen for those that want a heart to share with and when the hand of friendship extends take courage and put your hand in theirs. Let the self protection dissolve little by little as you prove that friendship to be safe. Be a safe haven for other hearts. Friendship is so much more than the sharing of time, it's the sharing of souls. Loneliness makes the insides grieve because we weren't made for the prison cell. We were made to share and to receive, to love and be loved, to extend a hand and find it held by another.