Friendship is a necessity. If we neglect it, we will feel a vacuum in our soul. Friendship makes a major contribution to the process of soul-making and without it we feel a painful lack and debilitating weakness of heart. Friendship offers the soul intimacy and relatedness…and…without intimacy, the soul goes starving for the closeness provided by intimate relationships…In friendship, we want to receive and to be received. To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship…A friendship doesn’t require compatibility. Friendship is not essentially a union of personalities it is an attraction and magnetism of souls….It may be wise, then to cultivate friendships in an indirect manner. Friendship may not respond well to pressure….Friendship consists of mutual understanding, a common concern for each other, sensitivity to the soul work of the other….Friendship entails a paradoxical blending of intimacy and individuality….and…to the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendships... Thomas Moore

As I get older close friendships have become more elusive yet more important. Most of my friends my age are now very busy with work and family responsibilities which more often than not prevents them from hanging out with other guys much of the time. In general women seem to be more intentional about spending time with each other and mutual support seems to be an important aspect of their time spent together. Men on the other hand often get together for sporting events or just to shoot the bull where small talk seems to rule the day more often than not. Personally, I miss time with my single friends back before I was married when we would often sit up until the wee hours of the morning sharing our lives, hopes, and dreams. I can't turn back the clock but I would hope that more men would see the importance of taking more time to cultivate their relationships with other men and pursue the potential healing that is available to those men who are willing to be vulnerable, show concern, and sensitivity for each other. We need each other.