Tag Archives: friendship
Every time you smile
“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” — Mother Teresa I wrote last year about Matt’s smiles, and how they have decorated countless photos and memories in his 28 years. That post is linked below. He’s had some help and encouragement in …
Long-distance friendships
“There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound.” — widely attributed Diana Cortes, about whom I could find no reliable information One of the silver linings to the sorrow of having to leave friends every …
Personal charm
“There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament.” — Henry Van Dyke I’ve written here before about my friend Maggie and her family, and the happy memories I have of them that go back forty years — it’s hard for me to believe we first met in 1974! Obviously, …
No ordinary people
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” — C. S. Lewis My favorite author C. S. Lewis wrote many passages that touch my heart and open my mind, but none is more sobering and remarkable to me than the text that includes the quote above. Think about it: every …
Beautiful discovery
“The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.” — Elisabeth Foley One year ago today, I quoted from a wonderful book written by my friend Ellis Anderson, whom I met at college nearly 40 years ago. Ellis and I were different in many ways, but we also …
Do not wait
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” — Mother Teresa If I’ve learned anything at all since Matt was born, I’ve learned this: no government or agency can match the power of one dedicated and compassionate person to improve the life of another. Agencies, laws and governments are necessary, but to …
Because we are so loved
“I believe, with every fiber of my being, that when we are struck down by adversity, God weeps with us and, then, because we are so loved, heals us in ways we can never expect or even imagine.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach I’ve shared here in previous posts that the past eleven months, although fraught with devastating …
A full expression
“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” — Ansel Adams This photograph of my friend Kathy, taking photos of me taking photos of her, is not a …
The best kind of friend
“The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you’ve had.” — Author Unknown As much as I enjoy talking (OK, no wisecracks here) I have to admit that an amiable silence is also one …
A friend who cares
“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen …
In the cherry blossom’s shade
“In the cherry blossom’s shade there’s no such thing as a stranger.” — Kobayashi Issa Have you ever noticed how often people share their excitement at a beautiful landmark or stunning view? Tourists who have never met offer to take photos for each other, handing expensive cameras to total strangers. Except, as Issa says, there’s no such thing …
A light from the shadows
“From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring…” — J.R.R. Tolkien These lines are from a poem I have loved for many years. It appears in the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings, but its message has an enduring appeal whether or not one has read …
Stronger than a fortified city
“Those bound in a fraternity of one mind stand stronger than a fortified city.” — Antisthenes Today is the first day of the 108th annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC, a commemoration of the friendship between the USA and Japan, symbolized by the 3000 trees given to us in 1912 by the Japanese people. …
Memory is a child
“Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.” — Pierce Harris Memory is nothing if not selective in what it retains. Hence five people may truthfully give five different accounts of the same event. Yet some memories …
Too big to pass
“Trouble is a sieve through which we sift our acquaintances. Those too big to pass through are our friends.” — Arlene Francis There are all kinds of reasons why trouble tends to isolate us from others. Many long to reach out to people in difficulty, but find it emotionally taxing to be present during the …
The dew of little things
“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”― Kahlil Gibran I have always appreciated this particular passage from Gibran’s work, because it has proven true in my own life for as long as I can remember. …
From hand to hand
“I’ve always felt there is something sacred in a piece of paper that travels the earth from hand to hand, head to head, heart to heart.” ― Robert Michael Pyle During the third semester of my PhD program in Communications (from which I withdrew at the end of that semester, due to uncertainty about Matt’s schedule …
A never-tiring affection
“One by one, as they march, our comrades vanish from our sight, seized by the silent orders of omnipotent Death. Very brief is the time in which we can help them, in which their happiness or misery is decided. Be it ours to shed sunshine on their path, to lighten their sorrows by the balm …
Like a handprint on my heart
You’ll be with me Like a handprint on my heart… — Stephen Schwartz Many of you will remember my earlier post about going to visit my “other Mama and Daddy” on the first Christmas after Jeff died. My siblings and I were blessed to have a second set of parents who provided us with another home …
To share our pain
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” — Henri Nouwen “…losing love Is like a …
A poet in January
“When one reads a poet in January, it is as lovely as when one goes to walk in June.” — Jean Paul Friedrich Richter If you’ve been reading this blog very long, you know how much I love walking, especially in mild weather. But I think Jean Paul was right about poetry and January, which …
Knowing how to be
“…many of us seek community solely to escape the fear of being alone. Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.” ― bell hooks The photo above was taken in 1972, during one …
