FRIENDSHIP
“Friendship is that rare and beautiful encounter
With the mirror of yourself,
Where what is looking at you,
Is the wordless story of mutual recognition,
Where the song that you are
Is graciously sung back to you,
As you remember those parts of yourself
You tend to forget and overlook.
Friendship is the soothing murmurs
Of a bubbling brook and
The shaking jolt of thunderous encouragement
To keep you going no matter what.
A friend holds nothing back
For trust is held and anchored deep
In the roots of doubtless knowing,
Even when the ground seems shaky
And rife with disagreement,
There is a place to fall
Knowing you will be held unconditionally,
For friendship is tender and fierce
In its loyalty to the love that is born
And renewed over and over again
Through the seed of its original innocence.
And as I bask in such bounteousness
I see beyond the appearances of separation,
Beyond the turbulence of division
As my tears wash away the impulse
To ignore all that is my mirror,
The stranger I just passed on the street,
Whose eyes express the desire to be seen,
The child whose smile breaks my heart wide open,
To invite me into the mystery of universal love
Behind all that feeds my soul,
To remind me that friendship is everywhere,
With the trees and soil, the flowers and rocks,
The people in the cafes or office buildings,
With all creatures of the earth and sky,
With the beggar and the sage,
The abuser and humanitarian,
With the multitude of humanity
Seeing the ten thousand things,
For what they simply are,
Waiting to be acknowledged and taken in,
Those quiet moments of recognition,
Through my willingness to step
Beyond all indifference, all fear of rejection,
As the hand of friendship
Softens my grip of unease
And guides me lovingly
Into the virtuous waters
Of friendships’ fluorescence and magnetism.”
-Tru Guy Stefan Starhorse- May 14th, 2022
Once I established a healthy ego identity; that somewhat secure sense of social stability within myself in order to function within a rather dysfunctional social reality, I then eventually reached a point when I could enlist my ego to participate in an expansive relationship with life. It took me many years to finally get to this stage of personal evolution, but when I did, my whole world began to change.
Instead of trying to dominate others with my need to be seen, I began to feel confident enough in myself to no longer take center stage and to allow others the opportunity to express their unique and special gifts and contributions. All of a sudden I was not living the isolated struggle of trying to be important in the eyes of others as I settled into greater self-respect and appreciation for who I was…flaws and all. This kind of unconditional self-acceptance opened my heart to have deeper compassion and empathy for others. Seeing the universal story we all share drew me into the collective soul of humanity. What I had thought separated me from others now became what connected me. Synergy was replacing my need for dominance as I progressively learned the lessons being offered by dominance itself. This brought me to greater compassion for others and the patience required to allow this compassion to inform me.
I had to surrender what I held so tightly about my identity in order to discover the true magic of communing with others. This brought me something far more precious than anything my ego alone could provide…and I am deeply grateful.
Every experience is a passage into something far more enjoyable and liberating if I am willing to let go and trust those inner impulses that want to take me beyond what has been familiar.
(Image by Joseph Redfield Nino from Pixabay)
