There are people who you meet through life and establish a friendship where the bond seems to never waiver. These friends, whether met through work or leisure, are with you at all times. Now, I don’t mean physically next to you, or even in the same location, but instead the relationship doesn’t diminish with time or distance. You may not communicate with them all that often, perhaps even rarely, but you consider them close friends.
I have been fortunate enough to realize this recently upon returning to the United States. I was able to see a handful of my timeless friends and our connection was left unaltered by the time and distance I had spent away. Friends that over the course of my 18 month absence had spoken to maybe once or twice, seamlessly reconnected as if no time had passed at all. I am thankful to have these friends, these people whom I am able to connect with.
These friendships are based on something deep down, I am unsure of what word describes it. Grounded in truth, respect, and admiration. Our conversations kicked off with a simple salutation and we got right down to it, as if no time had passed, but each of us had grown. There were no awkward silences or anything of that nature, we never missed a beat.
It may be that I have come to learn that I do not want to spend my time creating surface level relationships, for those, like a winter’s snow, never last. I want to spend my energy on people who are honest and passionate about life. People who, when I’m around them, get my mind racing with new ideas, heavy conversation and critique.
My experience back home was brief. I have once again gone with the wind and am in a new area, knowing no one. I can call this hiatus successful if I leave knowing that I made a connection with at least one person whom I can call a close friend. So far I’ve met many nice people in passing, I’ve fed a couple homeless persons and was able to have insightful conversations with them. They were both very expressive, happy and grateful for food and a conversation, just as I. These two folks or a majority of folks I meet will not be held as close friends, but instead kind folks who I will remember.
Today I am grateful for my close friends, our friendships are ineffable. Being alone in a new place is never easy, I have, over my seasonal lifestyle, become acquainted with loneliness. It sounds depressing and you may ask why I have come to seek out such experiences. I don’t particularly seek out loneliness, but instead the opportunity to experience awe-inspiring landscapes, find the sub-cultures in the gargantuan culture stew of America, the world, and gain the company of a lifetime friend.
