In an age where life suffers many fools, making new friends, or even maintaining old friendships can be a lesson in trust. No where is this so evident than the aging pool of existence that comes as you pass the mid-century mark. Life isn’t about peer groups that share your birth year.
Aging friends remind you of coming years, the end is nearer than you might think. Youthful friends remind you that life goes on, and on. Those who share your graduation year understand the impact of living in similar skin.
So what part does friendship play in your life?
As I read “Along the Back Roads of Yesterday” I recognize the familiar aspects of friendship in the truest sense of the word, that one who comes along side you and stands nearby as life’s struggles come. Age is no matter. The importance is having someone who truly cares enough to step into the picture and be part of your life on planet earth.
Anna, the woman who reached out to save the teams of mules and horses from slaughter when motorized traffic and vehicles became the norm, found friendship in her neighbor who watched for those small indications that she might be running low on feed. The family who provided hay for her herds, and eventually found her sitting on the well housing, her faded blue bonnet folded in her lap, silent. Anna befriended the mules and horses. A neighbor, befriended her.
No gallant cause, no world class issue, just a simple woman along the back roads, who reached out to help animals who were being slaughtered, and a family next door who reached out to help her.
Do you ever wonder if maybe we’d make a bigger impression on the world if instead of making a lot of noise about what we’re doing, if we just did it?
I sometimes wonder if the noise creates a vacuum of inactivity that sucks the good out of life choices. If maybe we just take action, the one action each of us can take to right a wrong, and keep doing that one thing, until it’s done. What if, each of us holds the door open? What if, each of us reaches out a helping hand? What if, each of us goes the distance to help another person?
