We are nothing in isolation

If introverts were to be asked to line up, I guess I would be first in the queue.

Those who belong to this group know that being introverted does not mean they desire friendships less. They also know that they are probably the most misunderstood people.

Often times, we are taken to be proud and standoffish since we tend to prefer our own company, content with reading a book, dining alone or even taking a walk in solitude.

But there is always enough of everything, and most introverts know the importance of balancing life. They know when to host that party and when to attend that event. They also know when to talk, because how else will their brilliant ideas be heard by the world?

When the urge strikes, an introvert will make a call to that buddy who understands them all too well, and they will enjoy a heart-to-heart chat.

I don’t know about men, but women are encouraged to have friends for all seasons to cater for their unique needs, because it is rare that a friend will have all the qualities you need in a comrade.

You need a buddy to have those adrenaline rushing shopping sprees with; one to hold that serious discussion with, and one to get silly with. Have a friend to paint the town red with, and one that you can leave your kids with when things are not working with the nanny.

The list could be as long as your needs… But reality offers us two — at most three — pals to journey through life with. Because the sad reality is that friends, and good friends at that, become morescarce as we grow older. We realise that that famous line is indeed true; that there are friends for a reason and a season. That there are short-term friends and long-term friends.

And so we value the handful of friends we have even more. We realise that as human beings, we have that deep need for friendship.

Humans are social beings. Friendship with others is vital for survival, sustenance, and wellbeing. We need friends for consolation in grief, for support in distress, for self-expression, for sharing joy.

Time and again, science has taught that we can understand the universe only in terms of relatedness, that things are nothing in isolation, that even an atom has significance only in some pattern of organisation.

Nothing could be truer. Is life today not about connectedness? Whether directly or otherwise, whether by design or accident, our very existence is as a result of this big web of connectivity that sometimes shrinks, and sometimes grows, of course most of it stemming from friendship.

Go ahead, celebrate your friends today. For not to have friends is to certainly live a lonely life. And to find a true friend is to strike gold. Photo: www.womenalive.org