I know I have a good friend when a person can tell my emotion before I realize what it is. Now maybe my face and mannerisms are and open book, but a certain level of friendship and compassion is required for a person to care enough to decipher me. I recently had the pleasure of experiencing an ambush by two of my favorite people. We were sitting around a camp fire discussing black holes, string theory, and philosophy. I must have made repeated hints and physical cues that told them both I had something to say. I, meanwhile, stared at the stars and chopped wood oblivious to my own "apparent" need.
Considering I was dating one of the people and have an intriguingly close friendship with the other, their knowledge of me came as no big surprise. However, the force with which they used such knowledge was a shock. I understood that I needed to talk, but did not know what to say. They both proceeded to yield peer pressure as a weapon of choice in a quest to make me talk. One might think speaking my mind comes easily. Those who have met me call me talkative, and those who have read this blog realize that I enjoy writing. Talking about my "real" feelings, that is a completely different ball game.
Long story short, my friends eventually uncorked my emotions. I ranted and cried in a whirlwind that felt more like the torrential storm unleashed by Odysseus' crew when they were so close to home. But even then, amidst the hyperventilating sobs, they were calm. Somehow they knew that right then, that is what I needed. I fell, they caught me in an understanding web of reassurance, and they gently placed me back on my feet.
I believe a moment can change a person and a smile can help the world; a friendship like that is what keeps you going long enough to experience those moments and exchange such smiles.
(As a side note, that was one of my shortest posts. Why use more words that you have to right? Did I get the job done in a smaller context?)
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