Friendship

In a few short days, the meaning of friendship became evident. Monday night: driving rain, a demented wind wanting to take me to the clouds, and a car that wouldn’t take me home, no garage assistance possible given the hour and conditions. What to do? Tuesday morning needed my presence at an unmissable meeting in Hania. Troubled thoughts while storm-related phone connections brought further angst. However, one quick call, when calls were possible, resulted in friends producing a car for my use, no questions asked. Another friend offered hers for the next day, and another friend leapt in today, ensuring that I was fully informed for yet another important meeting.

 

The garage dealt swiftly with the car, and all of a sudden, I’m reset to normal – no emergencies or meetings – yet with an overload of gratitude swirling, causing me to reflect more on what friendship means to me.

It could easily be defined when an otherwise stranger working at a government office deals with my request with courtesy, care, and kindness. That’s a level of friendship extended in the least likely of environments but which can make or break a day! And it surely helped me today complete some important paperwork.

 

Friendships may come and go; new friendships are possible to develop at every age and stage of our lives, connecting with us at various levels. There may be friends from early years, school days perhaps, who know us through the knocks, successes, and all areas of life in between. Newer friends may not have these depths of knowledge yet can come into our lives at any point and know us with equal power and importance. Some whom we may have considered forever friends can go in a flash or as a gradual moving away from each other. As life is all about change, so can be our circle of friends – there can be ebbs and flows, endings and beginnings as reflects our own changes.

The truth of friendship for me has become clear this week, with new and older friends stepping up, other friends showing patience while waiting for me to deal with promised jobs, other friends volunteering their expertise, and helping me while others keep in touch with words of support. And I would do the same for them, and – I hope – for someone I barely know but with whom I may extend a word, hand, or look of friendship; it may be exactly what they need in that moment.

 

I recall an incident, over 30 years ago when I was having one of those really awful, ‘bad hair’ days, one of those when you’d just not leave the house…but I had to run out to a nearby shop. As I approached the closed door, a complete stranger saw me approach and opened it specifically for me and greeted me with an out-of-context and unexpected warm smile. I can still feel the effect of that smile emanating from her eyes, truthful.

How can I not be grateful for such an experience? There’s much written these days about gratitude, to the extent that it comes to seem like an overused term…but it’s not; it can never be in my humble opinion! I can only value greatly all the levels of friendship I encounter, from those who will readily cover my ass when the proverbial knicker elastic breaks (and I won’t mention further that unfortunate school-ground incident of 1965), pour the wine without asking why, or just ensure I feel some human connection at a much-needed moment.

And while I may come as a stranger to a new client’s life, I am there from the start as a sturdy source of support and care throughout our encounters. Just as a friend would be.

Testimonial……..

 

When I first met Flora I was in a pretty bad way and completely lost. I had been to counsellors before, but always felt a sense of failure with them. Flora heard what I said. She didn’t try and make me “better”. She accepted where I was and sat patiently whilst I delved in to the dark places I had tried to avoid. I felt safe enough to go there. I needed to know who I really was , not who I thought I should be. Flora helped start that surprising process. I felt safe with Flora and a genuine compassion coming from her. I wasn’t just a client with a set of problems but a lost soul trying to find her way. It was such a relief to have that safe space. So if you are feeling very anxious, confused and don’t know where to start I can highly recommend Flora to be a genuine companion in your search.

Linda J, England