I have one friend who makes me laugh. Really hard. All the time. In fact, when my phone rings and I see her name pop onto the screen, I don’t even try to contain the grin that involuntarily spreads across my face. No matter my mood or my circumstances, just the sound of her voice lifts my spirits instantly. I love her to pieces.
I have another friend who makes me feel like home. She has always been there and always will be. I don’t have to explain things to her because we have so much history and, after all this time, she just knows me. She’s my anchor and I can count on her for anything. She’s part of me. I love her to pieces, too.
Why am I writing about friendships when this is supposed to be a blog about communication insights? Honestly, I’m not completely sure, but I think this is the reason. Through my friends, I get to know myself better. I’ve learned to recognize the times I reach out to them and the reasons for them. I’ve learned to celebrate the ways they make me feel and the buttons they push to do it. Through my friends, I learn my own native language.
If you think that sounds self-centered, I respectfully disagree. If I can’t recognize my own language, I certainly won’t know how to translate it for you. It’s like this: if I speak English and you speak German, we might have problems communicating. But if I also don’t KNOW I’m speaking English, I won’t even know where to start fixing the problem. To be really effective, knowing my audience isn’t enough. I also have to know myself.
Thanks, Sally and Robin. You give me so much.
Everyone should be so lucky as to have two close friends that bring fullness and balance to their life.
Pretty good.