Examining the 'why?'

A friend of mine I recently reunited with ironically brought up a concept that our reunion spoke to. He said he had heard somewhere that friends come into your life for "a reason, a season, or a lifetime". This is basically the idea that maybe this person was sent into your life to help you with a certain issue; a reason. Perhaps they were sent into your life for a longer period of time to help you grow and develop in a different light; a season. This concept also suggests that fewer people enter your life for to be a permanent addition; a lifetime.

After thinking about this idea thoroughly, while it has a poetic ring to it and romanticizes the idea of when a friend might leave your life, I call 'horseshit' on the idea in its entirety.

As I have previously discussed in this blog, I was adopted before my 1st birthday and my son is the only blood relative of mine that I have ever met. I was fortunate enough to be adopted by a great family whom I love very much. Perhaps because much of who my family is was based on choice, I choose to place a strong emphasis on the friendships I am fortunate enough to make and I spend a considerable time developing them.    

Regardless of what your faith is (or lack thereof), if you choose to strive to be a genuinely good human you should keep good people around you. I have always lived my life by the philosophy that when you find good people, you keep them in your life.

If someone comes into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime and a good friendship is created from that, then your lack of effort that causes them to leave is treason. Had I allowed people to leave my life because the 'reason' was completed or the 'season' was over then life would only be more difficult. Had I not gone back and made the effort to re-establish the relationship with my family and had I not maintained the friendships I have developed over the years then the darkness of the past 7 months would have only been further enveloped in loneliness. They say it is darkest before dawn but the relationships I am lucky enough to have, serve to starlight the horizon that is leading me back to the warmth. 

I choose not to forget that.