On Friendship

Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition. In the moment of friendship, two souls suddenly recognize each other. It could be a meeting on the street, or at a party or a lecture, or just a simple, banal introduction, then suddenly there is the flash of recognition and the embers of kinship grow. There is an awakening between you, a sense of ancient knowing. - John O'Donohue

The real test of friendship is: Can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy together those moments of life that are utterly simple? They are the moments people look back on at the end of life and number as their most sacred experiences. - Eugene Kennedy

Among the privileges of friendship is the opportunity to share some of the deeper feelings of human life – the joys and sorrows. Whatever happens to us a friend must know. We do not trust ourselves to read an event correctly unless his eyes read and interpret with us. Pain is lessened when shared with a friend who cushions the blow. Joys are double when shared with a friend. Then two hearts are happy. Two people laugh and sing. - Unknown

Do not mistake friendship for a license to tell the truth. More pain has been inflicted by indiscriminate truth telling than by lies. Honesty too often means being hurtful and wounding someone. As long as you keep true counsel with yourself, it does not hurt if you dissemble with a friend. - Unknown