It is Good You Exist
When we enrolled our son in preschool, the teacher used to announce new people with “Look, a new friend.”
Companions
A friend is a companion, a word that comes from the French meaning with-bread (com = with, pain = bread).
Balloon Friends
For February, I want to unpack what a friend really means. Let’s start with a beautiful metaphor. Friends are like balloons, hot air balloons. They light up our sky. This brilliance is only possible because behind the incredible show of light and color, someone worked very hard on this balloon. Read more on this balloon metaphor […]
Practical Tips: Downsizing a Friendship
The space we give our friends is part of how we enjoy friendship. In this painting of me and my son, it’s the distance between us that makes room for this huge palm tree shadow. Because we are further apart, I could see the shadow. If my son and I were in a three-legged race, I […]
Sorting Friends
We all know about sorting laundry. I like to make a pile of all the socks, then find their matches. Friends are the pair to our lone sock. We match each other. And once we know how we pair off with our friend, we can connect in the places that are natural and enjoyable. Because […]
Friendship Fountain
Fountains distract me in the best of ways. I know they’re ancient inventions, just water in motion, but there’s such a soothing playfulness in fountains. They invite me to wait and watch. The movement and sound of those splashes, the lure to reach for a few coins at the bottom, the energy of water shot […]
Mapping Out Friendship
If someone asked you to draw a map to find a good friend, could you chart the path? Maybe you know a few landmarks? What are the signs that you’re on the path to a strong, lifelong friendship? I took inventory recently and came up with this list. What has led me to great friendships? […]
Leaning In
Back when I had only been married a year, way back before I had any idea of how much soul work I really had to do, I met Karen. Of the thousands of therapists in Orange County, God appointed her for me. And she’s been a huge influencer in my life the last two decades. […]
Pretender Friends
Let me first admit that Jackson Browne’s lyrics from “The Pretender” inspired the title of this one. I met M years ago in Canada*. When I told her I would be visiting for a month to write a book, M was overjoyed. Near the end of the month, we had made many good memories together. […]
Lifelong Friends
You know that moment when a stranger reveals something a little different from the crowd? And in that moment, when they look a little vulnerable, you stop and look at them twice and think, “You, too?! I thought it was just me . . .”* I thought it was just me who painted model civil […]
