'Mind the company you keep' - words from my mother. I didn't like them when first I heard them. I thought it was accusatory. Surely she wouldn't say it if she didn't feel I needed to hear it. Did it mean she thought some of my 'friends' unworthy? And if so, how dare she.
The older I get, the more I realize the wisdom of my mother. Of course I should mind the friends I keep. I am, after all, a product of the personalities to which I am so forcefully drawn. Though I am consistently described as my mother's child, I often find traits of my closest friends staring boldly at me through my own eyes.
Her words are even more important because of the regard I place on those I call my friends. I have been, and still am, the type that has the same friends for years. People who touched my life when my age was a single digit touch it still. And that number steadily increases with time. Walking away from someone who proves to be a bad influence after the fact is not something I would be at all good at.
Looking back, it seems I've instinctively taken my mom's words to heart, and lived by them. I thankfully get along with almost anyone, but I find that I honestly only regard a small subset as close friends.
2 comments:
I got the same lessons from my mother and like you I keep only a few "close" friends. Walking away from those that are bad for me has not been a problem so far. :-) It is hardest for me when after the careful selection, circumstances keep you apart because I then feel a bit lost without my friends.
Some ppl I let into the inner circle turned out to be .......
I realise that more depend on me than I depend on. They miss me more when apart. The ones who get me all worked up are few and I oft don't show my love. I been workin on it though and I think I see improvement.
Despite that I've been blessed with many good friends. My internal loneliness..... I work with it.
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