Ourselves and our friends.

Most of us have friends as close as family, who, at a pinch, we’d call at 2 am for consolation or congratulations because we know they won’t resent us. They’re almost part of us, and we regale them confidently with our troubles and triumphs. But while I love these pour your heart out friends, I also need the energy of my let’s party friends. These friends care on a different level – less intense, less deep – but they still care.

And such friendships are important. With some friends, you want to be playful rather than deeply disclosing. Its not just a relief to them that you won’t give chapter and verse, its a relief to you. Its healthy to have lots of different friends at different level of intimacy because not only is it impossible to be close to everyone, its also undesirable. You need the full spectrum. This is the only way you can experiment with different parts of yourself.

Of course, its exasperating to feel stranded with friends who cant – or wont – allow you to open up when there’s opening up to be done. But if we accept our lite friends for what they do want to offer us – fun, laughter, full stop – then we enrich our lives immeasurably.