Reflections of your strong friend/You need to check up on your strong friend/Nobody checks up on a strong friend” – Royce Da 5’9″ (Strong Friend)

These days, the definition of who a friend is has become looser. While what friendship entails becomes even more complex.

And as much as friendship is better defined through private individual lenses, there are still tenets on which the idea of friendships are measured universally. 

The fact that social networking sites like Facebook were built with the premise of reconnecting with old friends, the looseness of the terms ‘friends’ and ‘friend requests’ on Facebook throw up more angles into preconceived notions we have already.

And these angles have gradually blurred the lines.

“We know each other” and “we are friends” mean the same thing nowadays.

Who is a friend to you? What does friendship mean to you?

The 3As work for me.

-Accessibility

-Affection

-Availability

I think of true friendship in terms of deep spiritual connections.

Connections so rare and inexplicable that physical presence just heightens it.

A bridge between emotional perception and sensitivity, awareness and telepathy.

Knowing what someone needs even when they don’t realize it, or when they do and the willingness to give it to them whether they ask for it or not. 

Maybe friendship in its truest form is about giving.

Giving time, energy, attention, resources and affection. But how much giving can sustain a relationship?

Kind and edifying words. Listening ears. Empathy.

A nonjudgmental approach. Calling out on destructive behavior. Care and concern devoid of ulterior motives.

I’ve heard of friends who pray for their friends. Such thoughtfulness!

Friendship is an exercise in patience. A labor of love.

With the proliferation of lost souls – too many people coasting through life and existing rather than living – the need to be a friend and the requirements for being one increase by the day.

I love how the Bible teaches friendship.

”A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty” – Job 6:14

I’ve heard about the quiet and unassuming strength that comes from true friendship.

I’ve seen it a couple of times even.

The strength that comes from having strong friends. The ones who listen to you, offer their shoulders for your tears and complaints, stay solid through your moods, cycles, highs and lows, and still love you regardless.

And the above could be due to the following reasons:

•Emotional maturity.

•Level of comprehension.

•The Need To Be (Stepping Up).

•Familial Instincts (or the just urge to take care of people).

•Deep Awareness and Empathy.

But there’s nothing like a strong friend.

There’s just someone who’d rather listen to you than talk about themselves. 

The ones who seem to give more than they ask.

It’s time to check up on your strong friends.

Asides checking up on your friends, it’s time to be the friend that your friends look at and decide to do better with their lives.

It’s time to be a strong friend. Someone needs your strength too.

And sometimes, strength is subtle and transmissible.

• Life
• Self Development