“The person who tries to live alone 
will not succeed as a human being. 
His heart withers if it does not answer 
another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts 
and finds no other inspiration.” 
~ pearl s. buck 

    Friends  

There’s nothing as 
nice as someone 
who shares,     
your laughter, your secrets, your wishes and cares, 
someone who’s there through your good times and tears,
who stays by your side as your friend through the years. 
autymn skillings
“Portrait of a Friend”
I can’t give solutions to all of life’s problems, doubts, or fears. But I can listen to you, and together we will search for answers.
I can’t change your past with all it’s heartache and pain, nor the future with its untold stories. But I can be there now when you need me to care.
I can’t keep your feet from stumbling. I can only offer my hand that you may grasp it and not fall.
Your joys, triumphs, successes, and happiness are not mine; Yet I can share in your laughter.
Your decisions in life are not mine to make, nor to judge; I can only support you, encourage you,
and help you when you ask.
I can’t prevent you from falling away from friendship, from your values, from me. I can only pray for you, talk to you and wait for you.
I can’t give you boundaries which I have determined for you, but I can give you the room to change, room to grow, room to be yourself.
I can’t keep your heart from breaking and hurting, but I can cry with you and help you pick up the pieces and put them back in place.
I can’t tell you who you are. I can only love you and be your friend.
–unknown
It’s a shame, that the world is so overcrowded,
but in the midst of big cities, 
folks are dying of loneliness, dr. g. 
People need people and friends need friends , 
And we all need love for a full life depends 
Not on vast riches or great acclaim, Not on success or on worldy fame, 
But just in knowing that someone cares And holds us close in their thoughts 
and prayers- 
For only the knowledge that we’re understood, makes everyday living 
feel wonderfully good, 
And we rob ourselves of life’s greatest need 
When we “lock up our hearts” and fail to heed 
the outstretched hand reaching to find 
A kindred spirit whose heart and mind 
Are lonely and longing to somehow share 
Our joys and sorrows and to make us aware 
That life’s completeness and richness depends 
On the things we share with our loved ones 
and friends. 
helen steiner rice