Your Circle of Strength

“How many Facebook friends do you have”?

This was the question that an acquaintance asked me a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure why she was asking and I honestly was not sure how many people I have “friended” on Facebook. When I told her I wasn’t sure, but thought it was about 100 or so, she was SHOCKED!!! What followed her look of horror shocked me even more. “Well, I have over a 1,000 friends!!! You are so sociable, Liz, I would have thought you would have more friends than that.”

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Yes… I am sociable. Yes, I log on to my Facebook account frequently, but I never thought that it was socially necessary to compare ‘friend numbers’. It was like Junior High all over again!! You aren’t ‘cool’ unless you have 1,000 Facebook friends and post EVERYTHING that you do online. When you woke up, what you’re wearing, where you are going from the moment your feet hit the floor to the time you close your eyes again that night.

We post to connect, but do we really know HOW to genuinely connect when we’d rather text than talk?

I have many Facebook ‘friends’ that I’ve met only once and bonded with them over a particular thing, but honestly, I’m not sure if I would REALLY consider them my ‘friends’. I have childhood friends that I’ve reconnected with on social networking sites that chat with me from time to time, but in a crisis, they are NOT who I turn to. That realization got me thinking. Why don’t I turn to these people, the ‘FB Friends’ that comment of my status updates and pictures? Why NOT them? And furthermore, if everybody is your BFF… is anybody your BFF? It seems to me that we throw this term around too often and too soon. We have lost the true meaning of what friends are and why it is vital to our health and well being to have close friends.

Are the 100’s (or 1,000’s) of ‘FB Friends’ the people who you trust or weather a crisis with? If they knew you were sick and/or needed help, would you hear from them other than the quick, easy comment of, “I’m here for ya, girl!”?

What is a REAL friend? What do honest and raw friendships bring to you and your life? Why should every person have an inner circle of people?

Aristotle said, “In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. They keep the young out of mischief; they comfort and aid the old in their weakness, and they incite those in the prime of life to noble deed”

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We all know that having friends is a good thing. It’s fact. It’s scientifically proven that persons with a solid group of friends:
*Are happier as they age
* Utilize friendships as a willpower booster to fulfill their goals
* Pull from their friends’ happiness to help fill their own happy tank
*Navigate through stress and grief with more success
*Forging bonds and connections strengthens your immune system

So, having honest friendships based on mutual respect and love, can only help you live longer, happier, and healthier lives!! Who knew?!?!