As you get older you begin to appreciate more and more the friends you have made. From a spring funeral and baby shower, to a summer wedding and birthday, during a typical year I have tended to oscillate between different stages of people’s lives.
As of today, I have only gotten to personally experience one of those for myself.
Therefore, peering in from the outside for the rites and rituals that mark these milestones have created several thoughtful reflections, especially since these events are happening to people important to me. The first one is to continue to be emotionally engaged with people that you care about and not simply be a fair-weather friend. However, invest too much in either friendships or any sort of relationship and it can get a bit disproportionate. This can result in people getting deeply affected by the responses or the lack of reciprocation from the other side.
Secondly, realize that people, like ecosystems, remain dynamic and evolve over time. I have always liked the saying that, “you never step in the same river twice.” It applies to human physical, mental, and spiritual changes just as easily as the more literal landscape. This is especially noticeable with my friends since childhood, where we were in the beginning continuously experiencing the same physical space, are now being scattered globally with only digital tethers binding us. You are now given snapshots where there was once the full production. The snapshots are more jarring as changes get thrown in sharper relief.
Looking forward to finding out who everyone is.
A Patchwork of Photos
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