The Journey Inward

Dear Friend,

I wanted to sit down and write you a letter to let you know how dear you are to me. I love the way our friendship has grown over the years, with us getting closer and closer despite our physical distance. We met through other people, but they became secondary to our friendship. We have carved out our own thing, our own, space, our own rhythm. We have built a friendship based on mutual love, respect, caring, empathy, compassion and good listening.

Here are the things I want you to know about yourself that you probably don’t see. They may be effortless to you, but their impact is staggering to me. First, you are always there. You show up when you say you will, you communicate regularly, you let me know if you need to shift our time together and you respond quickly if I need you, making time when it might not always be convenient. You check up on me and touch base, remembering little tasks and big events alike. I feel your presence and your interest in my life, as well as your concern. Despite different time zones, we are so connected.

The magic happens when we talk. Last week, we each had an unusual week timewise and lifewise. You decided that we should have one big, long talk to kick off the week and then check in each day. Well, those little check ins became a week of long talks! Of course! But what I loved was sharing our day to day lives, our thoughts and feelings, our ups and downs. I loved the way we listened to each other and offered support, advice, encouragement, mantras, and little goals. We were accountable to each other. We dissected, sorted, disordered and rethought assumptions. You helped me see what I didn’t want to see and feel what I needed to feel. You held me up and kept me putting one foot in front of the other. 

Thank you for all the ways you show up for me in your radiance and with your humor. Thanks for being both serious and silly, strong and weak, light and deep. Our relationship means the world to me and you are someone I can tell my darkest secrets to and know you will not judge me or abandon me.

I love you, Friend! 

Photo: The United States Botanic Garden, Washington, DC. 12.17.23 by LA

Spoiler to this piece: I did not write this to my dear friend, though I could have and sometimes felt like I was. Instead, I accepted a challenge from the class I’m taking to pretend I am someone from my life (family member, friend, coworker) writing a letter to me from their point of view. This experience taught me that I am uncomfortable naming and accepting my positive traits, uncomfortable speaking to myself with love, and uncomfortable with compliments. All in all, a worthy endeavour!