Recently, some friends and I had an unpleasant situation.

It was nothing too serious.

After a long and tiring day we got into an argument that ended in a bit of yelling and a few tears. Then we moved past it over some wine and food.

The specifics don’t matter, it was the feeling that I had afterwards that stuck with me.

I was sitting around chatting and laughing with these people who only hours before I had been yelling at. To put it simply, I felt just that much closer to them.

And since then I have been thinking about friendship—what it really is and how each time we reveal a bit more of ourselves to our friends we become closer to them.

If my friends can see how nerdy I am or how annoyed I can get by certain things or how loudly I speak about my passions and still call me their friend, then I can’t help but feel a bit more comfortable in my own skin as a result. I love them and they approve of me and so maybe I can approve of myself a bit more.

When I am on my own, with no one around, it is easier for me to just be myself. I can dance around and sing badly as loudly as I want. I can talk to myself and say dumb stuff in funny voices. I can burp and fart and not feel embarrassed. And I guess that is what the best kind of friendships are like. You can be you around your friends and that is okay. In fact, that is the best thing. And I cherish my friends for making me feel like the person I really am is a person they don’t mind being around.

In return, it is my greatest hope that I can offer that back. To let my friends know that I love them for themselves and I want, more than anything, for them to open up and reveal who they truly are. It is so rare to get to feel that way in front of other people and I want to offer the opportunity to my friends.

It can be so hard, but try to let yourself be open and honest to the people around you.

If they are truly your friends they will be honoured to have the privilege. And then offer them the same opportunity to be who they really are in return.

A big thanks to my friends for yelling right back at me and then going to get some food.

~

Missed the first edition of our new weekly comic, The Mindful Life Illustrated?  

The Mindful Life Illustrated: A Chance to Be.

~

Author & Artist: Mike Medaglia

Editor: Khara-Jade Warren

~