Friends

Where would we be without friends?  The answer to that is wide open, and it really is connected with another question......"how much do the friends I have affect me?".  Friends can make us, or yes, break us.  I'm not talking about family here (as in, my wife is my best friend), or associates (whom you can get away from if need be).  I'm talking about friends, folks we consider our friends, folks who are our friends.

I lived on the dark side of the highway of life for a fair portion of my adult life.  And for sure, my friends at that time also lived on that side of the highway.  I was happy to be there, and was glad that they were my friends.  Living on that side of the highway meant we had fun....and we made the most of it.  No subject matter was off limits, with the exception of anything related to religion, God, or spirituality.....unless it was made in the context of poking fun of someone....or swearing.

That was then, and now is now.  While walking the pooch today I got to thinking about that....friends. I've had the extreme pleasure of absorbing a whole new set of friends over the past number of years.  That came about after I moved and changed addresses.  I moved from the dark side of the highway, to the lighted side, and I've discovered a lot about what real friends are in doing so.  To be sure, there are vast differences.  Friends from the dark side of the highway:

• do not build you up as a real man, but are great at feeding your ego as a macho man
• don't really care about you....it's about what you bring to the table and bragging rights
• don't really seem to have feelings about much of anything....they tend to be hard in nature
• don't really have a healthy outlook with regards to the opposite sex
• are "in it" for themselves.

Those are just a few characteristics, at least from my experience.  The whole package of characteristics lent itself, in my case, to bring me down and keep me there.  Getting out of that trap is a whole other story, and not the point of this brief discussion.  Before we go there, however, let me offer some differences about those friends who live on the light side of the highway:

• they will unfailingly build you up as a real person, exposed warts and all
• they care about you more than you might ever realize
• they have feelings and emotions, and will share them, and will help you release yours
• they have a very healthy outlook on the opposite sex
• and they are "in it" for you, often at their expense

Here's the point.....we choose our friends.  We can choose friends who will build us up, or we can choose friends who will tear us down.  Therefore.....how we choose and keep our friends is a determinant in how we live our lives.  Do you want to live on the dark side of the highway of life, or its fringes?  Or do you want to live on the light side of the highway?  It is a simple choice which is often determined by the company we keep.....because it is, after all, our own choice who that company is.