"D" Is For Daring: Do You Find Friendships Daunting?

Wisdom Nugget: "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
                                                                    - Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934.

Source: Photo Pin

Many people do not have friends for the singular reason that they have been hurt too many times. So they decide to stay on their own to avoid being hurt again. As much as I relate with that, I do not think that isolating yourself is a path to a successful life. What can one achieve without a helping hand really? Even if you do achieve it alone, you would die a very lonely person. That's why I say that friendship is indeed a daunting venture. It's a courageous move!

When we make friends we really do not know everything about them, we probably just identified a quality in them and decided to call them friends. But you have not seen every side of them, you do not know if they will stand by you when you're down, you do not know if they'll lend a helping hand when you need one, you do not know if they'll push you on your way to success or down to your failure, you do not know for sure what they're capable of. You just call them 'friend' based on a speculation! Friends have to prove themselves, until they do, it's all a gamble which you should take anyway. Take it, go out there and find a friend. Don't die in loneliness because a joker came into your life, trampled on you and walked away.

Old Sam used to meet with his friend on Thursday afternoons at a café an hour away from his home. They met to play chess games and talk about old times. For six Thursdays consecutively his friend wouldn't show up and every time Sam ran into him he would give an excuse; a new one every time. And the next Thursday Old Sam will walk to the café to wait for his dear old friend who would never show. Sam's wife tried to convince him that his friend had moved on, he was apparently tired of these meetings or had probably made a new friend. But old Sam would always go back despite his wife's attempt to get him to stop. One Thursday after waiting for over one hour, he picked up his coat and decided to leave. An old man walked up to him and said, "this lady must be very important to you. Every Thursday you wait for her and every Thursday she never shows." Old Sam smiled sadly and explained that whom he waited for was no lady but an old friend whom he used to play chess with. "Aha!" He loved to play chess too the old man bellowed. He continued to explain that he always played alone. Old Sam asked why he had never seen him there at the café and the man replied "because you're always too busy looking at your watch and out the window." Old Sam smiled sadly. Would he like to play chess? The man asked. But Sam declined explaining that he had a long walk home and had to set out early. Would Sam meet him next Thursday for a chess game? "Of course" old Sam replied and headed home. Sam told his wife what had happened. His wife asked him if he would go and Sam replied "but of course!" "How do you know he won't stand you up like your old friend has been doing?" his wife asked and Sam replied "I don't know. It's a risk I'm willing to take"

Old Sam is more than willing to risk being stood up again. Do you know why? That's how friendship is cultivated. It's all risk and risk and risk until you begin to trust them. Even after trusting, some friends might still hurt you. Do you then decide to stop having friends? No! It's all a dare! Take it!

There are so many things that you could be, you could learn through a friend you've never met. Don't give up that opportunity simply because you're too afraid to take the dare of developing friendship.
Lasting friendship can occur suddenly like in our nugget. You can never tell where or how you'll meet a friend. Just open your heart to it.