A Meditation on Friendship

We met a crossroads, you and I, my friend. Both of us walking down our separate paths, and then smack!, we ran into each other. So we decided to walk together for a while.

Well, it took us some time to get the pace right, but we found it, more or less. Such adventures we had. The broad, green valleys and long, hot deserts we crossed. The mountains and hills we climbed, and the plateaus we rose to. The rivers and streams we forded. The sunsets, and sunrises.

And the people we met along the way. Those that joined us for part of our journey, and those we met only in passing. How wonderful it was to know them, to experience them, to be part of their journey.

Yes, the road was often rough, often strewn with boulders, but somehow we kept each other going. Through all the tears and anger, we kept on laughing and smiling. Through all the sadness, we always found the joy. Through all the pain, we always found the love.

So now, we find ourselves at a new crossroads, you to go one way, and I another. Maybe our paths will cross again; maybe they won’t be too far apart; maybe not. And yet you will still travel with me and I with you, because in our hearts, in our spirits, we have become one. Such was the gift of this journey; such is the gift of love.

So travel well my friend. Know that I am with you always.

I love you.

May 11, 1993