Remember that scene in Toy Story when Buzz wanted to give up being a toy and Woody reminded him of his self-worth? Or do you remember that scene in The Fox and the Hound when Todd fought off the bear that attacked Copper, even though Copper was hunting him? What about in Finding Nemo when Merlin left Dory, yet she still brought back his son at the expense of being captured herself? How about that episode of How I Met Your Mother, when Barney saved Marshall and Lily’s marriage by flying across the country to convince Lily to come back to New York?
Do you have a friend that would be as selfless as those beloved characters? If so, mark August 4th on your calendar! August 4th is Friendship Day, and you should celebrate the friendships in your life.
There is a common misconception that a friend is just someone who you hang out with, go to parties with or have a few things in common with, but a true friendship is deeper than that.
Kahlil Gibran, a famous Lebanese –American poet, describes what genuine friendship is:
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Do you have a friend that has consistently been “your needs answered?” Well, take the 4th and use it to appreciate your friends.
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