Opinion | Being There
nytimes.com
Opinion | Being There
* “The dynamic of friendship is almost always underestimated as a constant force in human life: a diminishing circle of friends is the first terrible diagnostic of a life in deep trouble: of overwork, of too much emphasis on a professional identity, of forgetting who will be there when our armored personalities run into the inevitable natural disas... See more
thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com • WORDS: Friendship by David Whyte
I learned, very gradually, that a friend’s job in these circumstances is not to cheer the person up. It’s to acknowledge the reality of the situation; it’s to hear, respect, and love them; it’s to show them you haven’t given up on them, you haven’t walked away.
David Brooks • How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
“I think we also found the answer to the universe, which was, quite simply: just spend more time with your friends.”
Jenny Odell • How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
An intimate friendship, whether it be from the companionate love of your spouse or an Aristotelian “perfect friend,” is better than any professional success. It will salve the wounds of professional decline like nothing else.