Mirrors

Image credit : Jessica Walker

I spent the most exhilarating day on the ski hill today. Aside from the fresh, crisp mountain air, excellent conditions and almost perfect weather, my day was made even better because I spent it with a friend.

We all have acquaintances, and many people have lots of friends. I find it interesting that I have many acquaintances and only a few true friends.

The word "friend" is thrown around a lot, kind of like the word "love". We all are guilty of loving a band, loving a color, loving that person.....but do we really love that person or inanimate object? It's the same for the word "friend". It's so much easier to say "My friend, Julie....." than it is to say "My acquaintance, Julie", but what comes to mind when you use the word friend?

To me, a true friend of mine is someone who I can be absolutely, 100% real with. Those people are so hard to find. I'm very, very lucky to have about as many friends as I have fingers. Not that I don't want any more friends, but I really cherish the ones that I already have.

The friend I spent today with is the perfect example of people I want to surround myself with. We have an excellent chemistry. One that cannot be manufactured. We usually talk from the moment we get within sight of one another and don't stop until we say goodbye, but when we are quiet it's comfortable. We are both confident in ourselves and each other's company, that we don't have to fill every moment with incessant babble ( not that we don't anyway!) I may have as many true friends as I do fingers, but I have even less than that with whom I can bare my soul. I am very proud and want to be independent, manage my feelings, and be a big person all of the time. My few true friends make it easy to be vulnerable, and admit when I have ugly feelings or insecurities. That is because they understand me and where I am coming from. They also are not afraid to speak up when they feel I need a good talking to. They listen to, and most of all, hear what I have to say. So often, what needs to be heard is not even spoken. To hear the message is the secret language of friends.

My dearest friends are mirrors. They reflect back all of the things I like and dislike about myself. They reflect back to me when I am being ridiculous and help me to laugh at myself. They point out the blemishes and offer help on how to heal those sores. They show me that tears are okay, and cry with me. And most of all, they reflect all of the good qualities I have within myself, while amplifying all the good in themselves....helping me strive to be a more beautiful person.

A true friend, like a mirror, is non judgmental.....reflecting only the truth back at us. However, they often do it by making us take a really long look at ourselves, and by removing the filter that we so often place between ourselves and our own reflections. They also love us when we don't always like what we see when we look at ourselves.

So, tonight as I enjoy how alive my body feels today from the fresh air and exercise, I will also sit back and appreciate the wonderful friends I have in my life.

.....My mirrors.