I love blogging on a rainy Saturday. Nothing quite like it.

I got to thinking about friendship today after spending some time with a friend. We had a great agility session and sat on the (hot!) track just talking and catching up. It really led me to think about the friendships in my life and the importance of quality. I do not know about you, but when I was young, I always thought having “more” friends was better. I was quite mistaken. I clearly remember a conversation where my grandfather explained to me that in the end of your life, you are lucky to count 5 true friends on one  hand. I just thought he was nuts and liked to make himself sound wise. Now, a decade and a half later, I understand JUST what he was saying.

There is wisdom in knowing that friendships are more about quality and less about quantity. Understanding the true value of a “real” friend is an amazing thing. I do not think it depends on length of time either. It saddens me to say that some of my longest (and what I thought) were “best” friendships ended up being those that hurt me the worst. It takes wisdom to know and appreciate a beautiful friendship and to VALUE it.

Todays post is short and sweet. I will leave you with this, if you have been hurt or let down by a friendship that did not work out, do not give up hope. Basically, just because you may have gotten burned does not mean that you will every time. Still continue to put yourself and your heart out there because “true” friends will never abuse it. You will miss out on one of the sweetest things in life if you do not trust again.

I encourage you to take risks because true friendship is worth the risk. I also encourage you to let go of the need to have “many” friends and look for quality genuine friendships instead. Friendships are how we connect, grow and flourish. They are a vital “support” system of life and without them, well, I just don’t think the world would be the same.

Until next time,

Ashley