A whole lot of growing going on...

There are so many kinds of friends; best friends, fair weather friends, let's get wasted friends, I need tickets friends, tea and sympathy friends, not seen you in years but nothing has changed friends and so the list goes on. Sometimes I question my friendships; who I choose, why I choose them, how we crossed paths in the first instance and what efforts I make to retain these bonds. I have been very fortunate to cross paths with so many awesome people, several of which are now very close friends, whilst others fall into some of the categories already mentioned. That said, all of these connections are meaningful jigsaw pieces, that may change shape over time, but always seem to complete my puzzle.

I love connections, the obvious ones are always fun, as too are the more subtle, less frantic 'slow-burners'. I especially like it when you learn something new about yourself, whereby someone exposes another side of you that you weren't sure existed! I guess I am just trying to figure out if this is a sign of being more open to exposing your existing layers or that you simply grow more layers as a result of these new experiences? Or maybe it's both; we grow inside and outside simultaneously, with each of life's twists and turns. Whatever it is, it seems to be happening more and more, with friends old and new, past and present.

In my experience, the key to a good friendship is balance and ensuring that expectations are understood and managed even if they are not mutual! That said, nearly all of my connections have been through some sort of test or trauma; love issues, clash of moral code, opposing political views, changing jobs, moving countries etc...which makes me wonder, does friendship need to have been through the mill in order to survive and be long lasting or is it just that life happens, so ups and downs are par for the course?! Even writing this makes me think about the people I surround myself with and the journey's I have shared; I have certainly done some serious mileage!

It's exciting to know that there is so much more to learn and experience; in terms of getting out there and trying new things as well as opening up the bonnet and reflecting on your own personal adventure. I am still bobbling along in my 'mind buggy', but I have upgraded to the convertible model and the learner plates have gone from red to green. It's best to make people aware that whilst I am open to new concepts and prepared to occasionally off-road it, I still stall every now and then and get lost when the SatNav decides to re-calculate!

Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, we are happy when we are growing - William Butler Yeats