The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck
Friends are some of the most influential and important people in our lives. Some of our most memorable experiences happen with our friends. We laugh, celebrate, and have fun with them. We often share the same interests. Most of all, we enjoy spending time with them. However, our truest friends are those who not only laugh and have fun with us, they are the ones who stick around during difficult times–especially the difficult times.
Our truest friends know us more than most anybody else. In fact, they are the ones who aren’t afraid to argue with us when we aren’t making the best decisions or when we can’t see past a certain viewpoint. They interfere when we do something that could be harmful to ourselves. They listen relentlessly and drop everything to be by our side. They encourage us and become our biggest advocates. They hound us to do something we should be doing. And they do not give up when we are being stubborn. They can become the most annoying people we know when times are tough.
Here are some of the reasons our friends can come across as annoying:
1. They want to help. When times are tough our friends often feel helpless. They want to do something to make us feel better. Anything. They care for us and can’t stand to see us suffering in any way.
2. They know us better than most people. Because our friends know us better than anyone else, they know our most vulnerable aspects. However, when we aren’t feeling well or we are going through some emotional turmoil, we don’t want to feel vulnerable. It’s harder for us to put up a front and pretend that we are feeling fine when we aren’t. And our friends can see right through this. It can be irritating.
3. They are scared. In the event of an illness, our friends sometimes fear the worst. After all, we are important people in their lives. When we are sick, it becomes terrifying for our friends because they often can’t do anything about it. But they desperately try to find some way to control the situation by becoming more persistent than ever.
4. They want us back. While our friends will do anything for us at any time, they’d prefer to see us at our best. They want us healthy and happy. So they will go to great lengths to try and get us back to being ourselves.
5. They love us. When times are tough, our friends can’t stop thinking about us. They will do anything for us simply because they love us.
For these reasons, we should embrace our friends during tough times. While they can annoy us and seem overbearing, they really have the best intentions. They are often the most loyal, reliable, and trustworthy people we know.
