Friendship

What advice would you give to your younger self?

In my job I've had the chance to interview ambassadors and ask them this question. The answers are as different as each of the ambassadors and there is always so much to learn from them. Anyway...so I'm reading a book that's been on my shelf for a long time--What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self. It's a collection of letters written by 41 accomplished women to their younger selves.

I have enjoyed reading it so far, and today I came across a quote by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik that I really love:

“Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

This sums up exactly how I feel a true friendship should be. You shouldn't have to watch what you say, worried that it might be misinterpreted, that your intentions will be questioned, that your words will be taken with offense. A true friend you don't have to explain yourself to. They give you the benefit of the doubt. They trust that you would never intentionally try to hurt them in any way. And if you do hurt them unintentionally, they forgive you. I am so grateful to have friends who with a breath of kindness blow my flaws and shortcomings away...keeping only the good. I'm thankful for their grace and love.