Flawed friends

We all have friends in our lives- some are acquaintances, some are more significant- but the best friends in our lives love us not just in spite of our flaws, but because of them. I think it's when we have those people with whom we can be totally ourselves, that we understand that we are not perfect- because our friends may point it out to us and understand and love us just the same.

There is such pressure on us each day to do and say the right thing, to be the best person, to try not to fail, that it's when we let down our guard that we truly reveal who we are beneath and what it is that makes us different. Trying to conform or be the same or be who people want or expect us to be is exhausting and oftentimes fruitless, because really it's in the differences in each of us, it's in the mistakes we make and the forgiveness we have for making them, that shows who we really are.

So when you find those friends who trust you to be only you, who want to know who you are when you are not trying, those are friends you should cherish. Because taking the time to let someone be, sitting with someone as they unmask themselves, reveling in what makes them imperfect, is the truest form of friendship and love. And being able to do that in return is not only the highest compliment, but also the essence of trust.

Lesson learned.
-a